


Jean's Little Problem

by khywa



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alive Marco Bott, Fluff, M/M, with a tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-18 01:59:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2331038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khywa/pseuds/khywa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean doesn't understand why mini Jaeger is so obsessed with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided it was about time I did something for my favorite pairing and this was the result. I believe Jean is one of those people who say they hate children, but they show him their drawings and he cries.
> 
> Many thanks to my awesome beta [Meagan](http://zainyrain.tumblr.com/) who will help me through this.

Many would appreciate a morning like this. They would look, mesmerized, at the weak sunrays illuminating the grass that swayed in the wind and the birds that flew through the air singing. If they were awake, that is, because it was way too early to function. But, if they were, they would look at the sky, smile and say that the day looked promising.

But not Jean Kirschtein.

Not Jean, who _had_ to wake up because he was one of the lucky ones selected to help Hanji with their crazy new experiment. At five in the morning. _Great_.

So now here he was, dressed in his full uniform as he moodily followed the other lucky people to an open area away from the Survey Corps’ castle headquarters. The cold wind wasn’t helping at all as it blew through Jean’s thin clothes, making him curse and wish for his warm bed. Where he could be _sleeping_ now. He grimaced as he rolled his shoulders, sore from cleaning the stables until late last night.

A few meters ahead, Jaeger was talking with Hanji, and of course, Armin and Mikasa were by his side. He winced when Eren said something particularly loud. It seemed that the boy didn’t know any other way to communicate besides shouting. Jean sighed. It was too early for this shit. Actually it was too early for _anything_.

After a few minutes, Jean found himself on a hill with some scattered trees surrounding it. Hanji turned to them.

“Alright guys, here’s what we’ll do.” They rubbed their hands together, eyes shining with manic excitement. “After comparing Eren’s blood with a lizard’s, I noticed that they have certain similarities," the scientist animatedly went on about scientific methods that nobody understood, except perhaps Armin.

_Wait. So Jaeger has the same blood as a lizard?_ Jean smiled to himself. This was the only part that he had been able to understand from the explanation that was still going on. _And the only one that matters._ He looked over at Eren and saw that he must have been thinking the same thing, since the tips of his ears were red. Jean chuckled and Eren glared at him. He only smiled and looked ahead. At least he’d have something to tease Jaeger about later. Maybe this wouldn’t be useless, after all.

" ... then, to test the limits of his regenerative capacity, after Eren transforms, I will inject the serum in his bloodstream and see how his titan form reacts." Hanji was still talking, Jean noticed. He glanced at Eren, who seemed determined, _as always_ , his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration, but Mikasa looked at the Squad Leader as if challenging them to hurt her adoptive brother. "All you guys have to do is make sure that he, well, doesn’t get out of control." Hanji grinned, as if a drugged and uncontrollable 15-meter class titan running around the headquarters was nothing.

"Now get into your positions!" Hanji cried out and grabbed a surprised Eren by the arm, dragging him to the middle of the open area.

While the others began to spread across the field, Jean surreptitiously approached the trees and he quickly used his gear to jump to the nearest branch. From there he could see what was happening and not be trampled by a bunch of uncontrolled meat. He smiled smugly. _Jean, you’re a genius._

He was still praising himself when he felt the hair on his neck stand up. Lightning crossed the sky, followed by a violent vibration that almost threw him off the tree. And where Eren had been seconds ago, stood a huge titan breathing heavily. Smoke was coming off of it, and a mass of tousled hair covered his face. Then the creature moved slowly and Jean felt, more than saw, two eyes staring at him. A shiver travelled down his body. He could feel the intensity of that gaze even from meters away.

Jean was already wondering how far he could run before the titan got him, when the creature raised its head and gave a cry that echoed in his bones. He realized that Hanji must have already gone up and injected the serum on the titan’s neck. _They don’t waste time_. Jean thanked Hanji silently.

Time stopped for a moment as the titan went completely still, its muscles contracting. Then its skin began to smoke and dissolve. Screams could be heard from where the others were down there, and Jean examined the situation. Some people were firing their grapple hooks, trying to get purchase in the titans skin to pull them up, but the decomposing meat made it an impossible task.

Jean was about to join the group when he saw something detach from the titan’s steaming body and begin to fall toward the ground. _Eren._ He looked at the commotion at the creature’s feet and realized there was too much steam, which prevented the others to notice the small form quickly falling from 13 meters above the ground.

_Goddammit, Jaeger._ Jean propelled himself forward and activated the gas mechanism on his 3DMG, moving toward what he believed to be Eren’s body.

The mist coming from the titan prevented him from seeing clearly, but Jean could still distinguish the body falling a few meters in front of him. _It’s too small_ , he thought, confused. Even if Jaeger wasn’t the definition of tall, it didn’t make sense that he looked so tiny. _Unless…_ Jean felt something clench in his chest. Eren’s body could only be this size if he had lost not one, but _many_ limbs. Jean cursed under his breath. How many times would he have to be torn apart until there was nothing left? He imagined that Eren wouldn’t mind if it helped humanity fight against the titans. _The idiot._

He finally got through the dense mist barrier and saw a figure in front of him falling with amazing speed toward the ground. He fired his hook to the nearest tree and spun, colliding with the body and bringing it close to his chest. Instantly, he felt small hands hold tightly around his neck, almost making him choke. Jean shivered. Something went _terribly_ wrong. Tightening the other body against his, he headed to the nearest tree.

After landing, Jean kneeled and put Eren’s body on the tree’s branch. Because it _had_ to be Eren, if the mass of brown hair tickling the side of his face and the incredible force with which the arms were still clinging to his neck were any indications.

“Eren, you can let go now. C’mon.” Jean said softly, with a delicacy that if anyone asked he would deny it until his death.

Slowly, the arms eased and Jean could breathe normally again. Only to feel the air being pushed out of his chest when he saw the boy in front of him. Wearing an oversized t-shirt, he couldn’t be more than 6 or 7 years old and he almost didn’t reach Jean’s waist. Jean looked at him petrified. _This boy is… Oh god, it can’t be._ He thought desperately. But he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t recognize that wild brown hair – that he had seen many times running around the training fields, or those big green eyes that stared at him in wonder. The boy then frowned, wrinkling his nose. _That face…_ Jean had no more doubts. _This boy is-_

“You smell like horse shit.” The boy said abruptly.

Yes. He definitely was Eren Jaeger.

_Inhale. Exhale. Don’t push the boy of the tree._

Jean passed a hand over his face as he assessed the situation for a moment. Then he crouched down and wrapped tiny Eren in his oversized shirt. “Hey! What are you-“ he was interrupted when Jean slung him over his shoulder. “Let me go, idiot!”

Jean grimaced when the boy’s voice echoed in his head. Jaeger might be smaller now, but his voice was as loud as ever. Maybe not as deep, but terribly loud? _Yes_.

Ignoring Eren’s tantrum, Jean fired his hooks and jumped in the air, heading to where the others were gathered.

It really was too early for this shit.

\----- 

Jean landed and put Eren, who had gone silent during the flight, on the ground. He glanced at him and saw that the boy was in awe, looking at his 3DMG and the surroundings with bright eyes. Jean smirked, at least Eren would be too stunned to talk for now. Then he heard someone calling his name and turned around. Armin rushed in his direction.

“Jean!” He said, panting, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Where were you? Eren-" Armin stopped when he saw the little boy giving him a wary look behind Jean’s legs. “He… This is…”

“The one and only. I got him when he fell from the titan.” Jean said, nodding to the decomposing carcass a few meters ahead. He glanced sideways at Eren, who had just noticed Armin’s 3DMG and had gotten a little closer to him, alternating his gaze between it and his uniform.

“Wow.” Eren murmured, clutching his hands to his chest so he wouldn't touch the gear.

“Oh, dear.” Armin said, covering his mouth with one hand. After making sure that the other teen wouldn’t have a mental breakdown, Jean looked around, wanting to get the hell out of there before Mikasa discovered what happened.

“Eren!” _Too late._ The three turned to the shout’s source and saw Mikasa running towards them. She didn’t seem to have any doubts about the boy’s identity as she kneeled in front of him and began searching for any scratch or injury. “Are you alright?”

“Hm, yes, I’m okay.” Eren said, moving away from her inquiring hands. He seemed confused while he stared at her face, like he was looking for something. “Do I know you, Miss?”

Mikasa froze. “What?”

“Do I know you? Are you one of my mother’s friends?” Eren’s eyebrows were furrowed together, as if he was trying hard to remember. Jean looked at him. If he didn’t even remember Mikasa… “How do you know my name? I don’t think I know any of you. But you are from the Survey Corps, right? You even have the uniforms!” Eren said excitedly, his eyes shining as he looked at the three teenagers.

Before any of them could answer, they heard another shout, but this time it was Hanji who came running, with the others soldiers behind them. “Oh! That’s Eren?” They almost jumped with excitement, smiling as if all went just as expected.

As Hanji took a step near Eren, Mikasa stood and drew her blade from its holster. She pointed it to their neck. “Bring him back.” Mikasa said, her blank expression more terrifying than ever.

Everyone held their breath for a few seconds until Armin touched her arm gently. “Mikasa.” He warned. Slowly and without letting her eyes leave the scientist’s, Mikasa put her sword back.

Hanji, that didn’t seem affected by the incident, turned to Eren, smiling. “Now, let’s see…” They said and began to touch his face and hair.

Eren slapped their hand away and stepped back. “Stop it.”

Hanji was surprised for a moment, but then they laughed. “Oh, that’s wonderful!”

Eren scowled and got closer to Jean. Who finally took a good look at him. The strong wind was making his hair go all over the place and he clung to his oversized shirt, hunched over like a cornered animal. Jean realized how lost Eren probably was, suddenly surrounded by strangers, not remembering his own childhood friends right in front of him. Then Jean decided to help him – so this would be finished faster and he could go to sleep, of course.

At this time, Hanji had already stretched out their hand to touch Eren again. "Squad Leader." Jean said. Their hand paused in mid air and they looked at him. "Isn’t it better to send a report to Commander Erwin? He may want to be informed as soon as possible about what happened."

Hanji made a thoughtful expression and moved away from Eren. Jean heard him sigh, relieved. “Yes, you may be right. But I need to collect more information before writing the report.” Hanji said and turned to Mikasa and Armin. “Could you two take Eren to my lab?” Both of them nodded.

Mikasa kneeled beside Eren and stretched out her hand. “Eren, can you come with me? I promise we will explain everything to you." She said with a gentle voice that Jean had never heard before, as if she was afraid Eren would run away. Something he definitely could do, Jean had no doubt.

Eren stared at the hand in front of him for a few seconds. Then he glanced at Jean before he took it. Together, the three began to walk in the lab’s direction.

“Hey Eren, have you ever seen 3DMG before?” Armin asked. He positioned himself at the boy’s side, talking to him while Eren walked hand in hand with Mikasa. They looked like a happy family. Jean rolled his eyes.

Eren looked over at him over his shoulder. Jean arched one eyebrow. _Is he obsessed with me or something?_ But Eren turned away after a moment.

Jean followed the trio with his gaze as they crossed the hill, faintly hearing Armin’s voice explaining how the gear worked. Behind him, Hanji was shouting to the others that they were dismissed. Jean sighed. _Finally_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing is, the fic is already finished, but in my language, that... isn't english... But I’ll do my best to translate it as fast as possible and Meagan will help me with any english mistakes. So bear with us, okay?
> 
> Also, feedback is greatly appreciated. If you spot any mistake, OOCness, etc. Please let me know, it’ll help a lot. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Jean woke up feeling the sun on his face. He grumbled and turned, lying on his back. His whole body ached and the grass prickled his skin. Instead of going back to the castle and to his warm bed – running the risk of being found by Levi and being made to clean the stables again or clean _something_ , he had found a big tree a bit away from the headquarters, had checked for any insects, and had laid down. 

Now, with the sun burning his skin, he believed it was almost noon. His stomach rumbled and Jean wondered if he missed lunchtime.

Looking at the sky through the tree’s leaves, he remembered the dream he had had. Jaeger should be pissing him off more than ever these days, since this was the fifth time he dreamed of him this week. No, not dreamed. Had _nightmares_.

This time Eren had become 6-year-old boy…

And Jean thought he was _adorable_.

He shivered. To be honest, the dream was completely ridiculous, since he _hated_ children, and a mini version of Jaeger shouldn’t be an exception. This meant the situation was out of control.

Jean was considering sleeping just 5 more minutes before he went to eat when he heard footsteps approaching. He held his breath. If Levi found him…

“Oh, there you are,” Jean turned to see Marco standing a few meters ahead, looking relieved. Jean exhaled. _That was close._

“Hey,” Jean said, sitting up and stretching. Then he noticed the worried expression on his friend’s face. "Did something happened?"

“Commander Erwin called everyone for an emergency meeting," Marco said. “It is true that Eren, uh, turned into a kid?"

Oh. So it hadn’t been a dream. Jean sighed. So he really thought Jaeger was- No. He’d deal with that later, like… never. He got up and wiped the dirt from his clothes. When he looked at Marco, he saw that he was still waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, it’s true.” Jean said, running his fingers through his hair. “Now let’s go, so I can grab something to eat later.”

Jean could feel Marco scrutinizing gaze while they walked, but the other didn’t say anything.

\-----

The meeting was being held in a big room that Jean had never entered before. Large windows reflected the light, casting shiny small dots on to the wooden floor and old paintings decorated the walls. There were several backless benches arranged around the room, but they were all occupied, so the two had to stand behind the last seat.

The place was surprisingly clean and Jean wondered if Levi had cleaned it before the meeting. Probably.

At the opposite end of the room was a long table, and behind it sat Hanji, absorbed in a heated conversation with Commander Erwin, and seated by their side, Corporal Levi, who scanned the room with a bored expression, with his feet up on the table. Besides them, in seats near the wall, was Armin and Mikasa, turned in a protective manner around Eren, who was seated in the middle of the two and now seemed to have clothes that fit him.

Eren looked around with narrowed eyes, wary to all the attention he was receiving. At his side, Mikasa kept her usual blank stare, but Jean knew she was ready to attack anyone who dared to approach Eren. He decided to stay away from her for a while.

After a few minutes, everyone ceased talking when Erwin’s voice echoed through the room. He began with a quick report of the occurrence, trying to calm down the soldiers, assuring them that Eren was fine. Hanji made some comments here and there, until they got carried away with the results of their tests and began to speak nonstop.

Jean already knew he wouldn't understand half of what they said. He yawned and looked around. Marco had his brows furrowed, paying attention to Hanji’s babble. Connie and Sasha were whispering and giggling, as always. He turned his attention forward and noticed two bright green eyes staring at him.

Jean was taken aback for a second, but then he huffed, looking away. He glanced at Eren again and saw that he was still staring at him. Jean gritted his teeth and made the most threatening expression he could. But instead of crying and running away, Eren made a worse one.

_Oh._ So little Jaeger thought he could win this. He was terribly wrong.

And thus began a silent yet epic funny faces’ contest between the two.

Jean was so engrossed that he almost missed Marco whisper. “Jean, what are you _doing_?”

He suddenly became aware of the situation he was in. His hands were opening his mouth as much as possible, while his eyes were wide open. Other people were beginning to notice and from the large table at the front, Levi was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Jean felt the blood rush to his face and he cursed under his breath, determined to ignore Jaeger until the end of the meeting.

Hanji ended their speech by saying that the serum would lose its effect in a few days or possibly weeks. Jean couldn’t imagine having to deal with mini Eren for the rest of the day, let alone _weeks. Ugh._

“In the meantime, protecting Eren is our priority." Erwin said. “Being in such a state, he’s an easy target. Patrols will be reinforced and Armin and Mikasa will be responsible for watching over him at all times. Also-" Levi poked Erwin with his elbow and pointed to Eren, who had his hand raised.

“Yes, Eren?” Erwin said.

“I don’t want to stay with them.” Eren said. The room went deathly silent. Jean noticed that Mikasa’s face had turned the color of her scarf.

“And by _any chance_ there is someone with whom you would like to stay, brat?” Levi asked, sitting more upright in his chair and looking at the boy as if he already knew the answer.

Eren pointed in Jean’s direction. “Him.”

Jean blinked, stunned. Then he looked over his shoulder with a smirk, wanting to see the face of the poor unfortunate soul that would have to-

But there was nobody behind him. 

_Oh._

That meant…

The others understood before him, because the room was already immersed in chaos. Jean came back to his senses and took part in the commotion, contributing the shouting and complaining. Marco was beside him having a coughing fit, which was a poor attempt to conceal his laughter.

“Oi. _Oi._ ” Levi hit the table with one of his feet and everyone shushed. “I believe… the brat’s opinion should be taken into account." He said and looked at the Commander.

Erwin had his arms crossed, thoughtful. After a brief moment that seemed like hours, he said "Very well. So, Eren, who do you want as your guardian?"

\-----

Forty minutes later, Jean was out of the room with the honorable title of temporary guardian, several threats from Mikasa and a brat walking cheerfully by his side.

“Unbelievable. Completely unbelievable.” Jean muttered. He, a soldier of the Survey Corps, trained to fight and kill freaking titans, has to take care of a child. It was better to throw himself off a cliff to avoid such humiliation. But Erwin had given his final word and there was nothing he could do. He was trapped, turned into a goddamn babysitter of none other than Eren Jaeger. Who now _bounced_ around, turning his head to all sides, trying to see everything he could.

Jean scoffed and walked faster. Eren soon sped up to catch up with him. Jean rolled his eyes at him, now bouncing _even more_ to keep up with his pace. Eren looked at him with a grin and Jean made a face. How could he be so happy? Jean didn’t understand. He had almost died, was in a strange place surrounded by people he didn’t remember, and he still smiled as if everything was fine. If it were Jean, he’d probably be crying in a corner. Not that he’d admit that to anyone.

Jean looked at Eren. Maybe he was that cheerful because he was thinking about something. Jean narrowed his eyes. Plotting something…

\-----

“Jean, for the last time, he isn’t an evil genius who wants to destroy your life.” Marco said, between spoonfuls of soup.

The dining hall was packed. They were seated at the same table, only that now Armin and Mikasa had joined them, since Eren refused to leave Jean’s side.

“C’mon Marco, look at him.” Jean whispered, giving sidelong glances to Eren, who was absorbed in making the peas on his plate attack a bunch of potatoes that looked like disfigured monsters. Armin and Mikasa were engaged in conversation with each other.

"He’s _six_ , Jean," Marco sighed. Eren made a noise that sounded like a battle cry and cut a potato fiercely with his spoon.

Jean raised a questioning brow to his friend. “See? He is completely--” Jean was interrupted by a small hand pulling the sleeve of his jacket.

He turned and found himself face to face with a smashed potato. “What in the…”

“You need to eat a lot to stay strong and fight the titans” Eren said, serious, swinging the spoon in front of Jean.

Jean stared at him, baffled. Then Eren took his plate and put the potato there.

“Uh, thanks?” Jean said and Eren nodded, his face solemn.

Jean looked at the potato on his plate, analyzing if there was even a tiny bit of saliva on it. Deciding there wasn’t, he opened his mouth to eat it when he noticed the look on Marco’s face. The other nodded to Eren and Jean groaned. He knew exactly what Marco wanted, but he wouldn’t do it. He opened his mouth again, but Marco’s look intensified and Jean sighed, defeated.

He took one of his carrots and put it on Eren’s plate. He cleared his throat. “You need to eat so you can be healthy and one day you can… fight too.”

Eren looked at the carrot as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Then he shoved it into his mouth.

“Oh my god, don’t swallow all of it at once!” Jean said, going to pat Eren on the back. But then Eren swallowed the food and smiled at him. Jean stopped, feeling a strange, warm feeling stretching in his chest.

“Aw, how cute!” Sasha said a few tables beside. Connie giggled.

Jean felt the blood rush to his face and pushed that feeling as far away as possible. “Shut up!”

At that moment, the door opened. “Kirschtein, control yourself.” A monotonous voice echoed through the place.

Jean turned around and saw Levi standing at the door. He cursed under his breath, sinking into his seat.

Levi scanned the place with his eyes. “I want you all out there in 5 minutes for a simulation. Don’t be late.” Jean began to stand up with the others when Levi stopped him. “Not you, Kirschtein. You do the laundry.” He said and turned to leave.

“But-“

“You have a child to take care of, Kirschtein. Or did you forget?” Levi barely looked back.

Jean sat down again, devastated. Not that he was obsessed with training or anything, but he liked using the 3DMG. Liked how the wind blew on his face, how it filled his lungs with air and urged him forward. It was one of the things that made him want to get up in the morning. But now, he couldn’t have it.

“Heichou?” Eren said with a small voice and Levi stopped at the door. “Can I help him?”

Jean thought he saw a slight smile on Levi’s lips, but when he answered, his voice had that same monotonous tone it always had. "Do what you want, brat."

Eren beamed at Jean, who just sighed for what seemed the hundredth time that day.

\-----

 Jean’s hands were wrinkled and his legs hurt badly from staying crouched on the rocks beside the lake, scrubbing clothes for so long. He looked up and realized a few hours had passed since he had started, but the sun was still high in the sky. Jean stretched, at least he was almost finished.

He looked at Eren a few meters ahead. The boy had insisted on helping, so Jean had let him take baskets filled with washed clothes to beside the clothesline. Now, Eren was jumping on the rocks near the water with one of the baskets.

“If you drop that, I swear--“ Jean warned.

“I can do it!” Eren shouted, still jumping.

Jean huffed and went back to scrubbing the clothes in his hands. He began to count. When he was at 15, Jean heard a gasp and the sound of something falling into the water. He covered his face with a wet hand. _Why me?_ He shook his head and stood up, wiping his hands on his pants.

“I told you!” Jean said, heading to where Eren was.

When he approached, he saw that the clothes were scattered on the rocks, saved, but Eren was soaked from falling in the lake. Although he didn’t seem to be hurt, Jean noted.

“Pfft.” Jean began to laugh. “You look like a drowned rat.” He laughed harder. Eren scowled.

Jean was in the middle of a particular loud laugh when ice-cold water hit his face. He turned, fuming, to Eren, whose whole body was shaking with laughter.

“You little…” Jean crouched down and tried to grab Eren. But the boy moved away and Jean lost his balance, falling into the water.

“Pfft.” Now Eren was almost doubled over, his hands clutching his sides.

Jean emerged sputtering and splashing water everywhere. He glared at Eren, wet hair plastered to his face. “You are _dead_.” Jean said through gritted teeth, pushing his hair back. Eren gave a delighted shriek and began to swim away from him.

When Jean finally got close to him, Eren turned around, and Jean realized, in horror, that his cheeks were puffed, filled with water.

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you dare--” Then Eren spit water on his face. Jean felt his eye twitch.

He chased after Eren with all his might, splashing him with water. Eren kept running away, laughing, sometimes splashing back. The water was freezing, but that strange feeling was back, keeping Jean warm as he swam, a slow smile spreading over his face.

They stayed like that for a while, until both of them were cold and breathless. The air was cooling down and the sun was beginning to set, sending ripples of gold over the surface of the lake. Eren sneezed. If he caught a cold, Jean was sure Mikasa would flay him alive.

“C’mon, Eren.” Jean said, stretching out his hand. Eren made a sound of disappointment, but let Jean help him climb the rocks.

Jean got two dry towels from the clothesline and put one on Eren’s shoulders. Then he took his own shirt off and sat in the sun, Eren sitting by his side. The boy seemed exhausted, but happy. Jean realized, astonished, that he probably looked like that too. And a small part of him reluctantly acknowledged he didn’t feel so disappointed to have lost the chance to practice with his 3DMG.

He breathed in the fresh air of the forest and closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth of the sun against his skin and the sound of trees swaying in the wind. Jean stayed like that for a few moments until he remembered something that was bothering him since the meeting.

“Hey Eren, why did you choose me as your guardian?” Jean looked at Eren, who was throwing small pebbles into the water and watching them sink. “Didn’t you like Armin and Mikasa?” Because now that he thought about it, it didn’t make sense for the boy to choose him. Mikasa and Armin, although Eren didn’t remember them, must have been much friendlier towards him.

“They are really nice…” Eren threw another pebble into the lake and looked at Jean. “But you saved me.” He said, like it was obvious. Jean felt his eyes widen. “My mom says when you save something it’s because you care about it.”

Jean wasn’t ready for that. And he definitely wasn’t ready for the fluttering feeling that started in his chest. He tried to say something in response, but all he could manage was a shaky “Oh.”

Jean watched the pebbles create little waves in the water. He tried not to think about what Eren just said, as it only made the fluttering worse, but it wasn’t working. He shook his head, trying to organize his thoughts.

He decided it wasn’t a big deal. He’d just do the two things he always did in situations like this: one, suppress the feeling and two, keep on going with his life. Simple, and it worked. Also, the fluttering feeling would most likely go away on its own. He’d just have to wait.

After both of them were dry enough, Jean began to collect the scattered clothes and put them with the others on the clothesline, struggling against the wind that had become increasingly strong.

While he was dealing with a particularly stubborn shirt, Eren took the towel off his shoulders and tied it around his neck. “Look Jean, I’m just like you!” He straightened his back and made the Survey Corps’ salute.

Jean felt something clench inside him. “Yes… yes you are.” He said, smiling at Eren the best he could. Eren smiled back at him and began to run around pretending he was flying with imaginary 3DMG. _Oh, Eren, you have no idea._

In a sudden gust of wind, one of the shirts fell to the ground, but Jean didn’t notice. He was watching Eren run through the grass, the setting sun casting a golden light over him and his ‘cloak’, that swayed in the air. And somewhere deep inside, buried in denial, Jean knew that the flutter in his chest wouldn’t be going away anytime soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter took longer than expected *shakes fist at responsibilities* but it's finally here!
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos, I'm glad you guys are enjoying it!

When they started walking back to the castle, it was nearing night time, the sky a mixture of purple and orange hues. Jean was dragging his feet through the path, exhausted and cold. By his side was Eren, the bright ball of energy, bouncing around like before and talking non-stop, his excited and _loud_ voice carrying on the wind. Jean rubbed his temples, head throbbing.

“One day, a boy said that the Survey Corps didn't do anything but spend his father’s money.” Eren said, eyebrows furrowed close together. Jean made a serious face, trying not to laugh at his intense expression. “Then I bit him.” Eren smiled, looking proud. And his smile didn’t falter when he said “But I didn’t get to have dessert for a month after that.”

Jean shook his head. It wasn’t a surprise that Eren had been idealistic since he was little, but it was still kind of fascinating. He looked at Eren, seeing his eyes light up while he talked about how _cool_ the world outside the walls must be, and Jean could _see_ all the infuriating bits of Eren’s personality. Even the characteristic way he moved his hands around while talking was the same. And just like that, Jean realized Eren hadn’t changed. Sure, his Eren was more impulsive, hotheaded, and terribly more _annoying_ , but he had always been like this. And there was a part of him, Jean could see it clearly now, that was full of ardent curiosity and desire to _know_ about things. It was breathtaking to think about.

“My father said that’s why I don’t have any friends.” Eren said and his words hit Jean like a bucket of cold water. “But I don’t care.” He shrugged one shoulder and absently kicked a pebble on the ground, changing the subject quickly.

Jean looked at him carefully. Eren was now talking about how he had heard about people who tried to escape and explore beyond the walls, but the light in his eyes had gone out. And he kept glancing quickly back at Jean, like Eren wanted to make sure he was still paying attention. Jean furrowed his brows. He imagined little Eren telling these same stories to other kids, wanting to share his dreams about the outside world, only for them to give him strange looks and go away, laughing. Even if he never admitted it, Eren must have felt really lonely before meeting Mikasa and Armin.

Jean got it, suddenly. He finally did. Eren Jaeger was a dreamer. A dreamer in a place where people only wanted to survive, living their life peacefully.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Eren gave him a glance once more, with a strange look on his face, like he was impressed someone would listen to him for so long. It was too much. Jean clenched his fists as a wave of protectiveness washed over him. He felt an inexplicable urge to take away the concealed hurt in the boy’s eyes.

“You have friends.” Jean said abruptly and Eren stopped talking, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Jean took a deep breath. “You have Mikasa, Armin, even Marco and…” They had stopped walking now and Eren was watching him intently. Jean saw the shimmer of light returning to his eyes and he swallowed before continuing. “And… you have me.”

For a moment, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of tree leaves rustling in the wind. Eren was looking up at him with an expression Jean couldn't decipher. Just when he was beginning to get fidgety, Eren smiled widely at him, his green eyes glittering in the weak light and went back to the story he was telling, enthusiastically moving his arms around to be sure Jean understood everything. Jean let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

As they began to walk again, he watched the cheerful expression back on Eren’s face and smiled to himself. He had done it. For once, he had said the right thing. And he knew that what he had said - even if he didn’t have actually put it into words before, had been true for a long time now.

\----- 

Eren was already into his fourth story when they saw the others approaching a few meters ahead, coming back from training. Armin waved at them. Eren waved back and began to run toward him. Then he stopped in his tracks and looked back at Jean, who stared at him with an arched brow, until he realized that Eren was asking for permission to go. Speechless, Jean nodded and the boy ran off.

Jean watched Eren run through the path as realization dawned on him. _I’m screwed. Completely screwed._ He ran his hands nervously through his hair, pacing around. Just today, he not only had said a bunch of sappy stuff that would made his Aunt Betty really proud, but also, despite how hard he tried, his treacherous brain still insisted on the idea that Eren, even though it was a little version of him, was _adorable_. Cute, even. Jean was freaking out.

“He’s lovely, isn’t he?” a voice said by his side, as if reading his thoughts.

Jean almost jumped out of his skin and whirled around. It was Marco. “Goddammit Marco, don't scare me like that!” He said, putting a hand over his racing heart. He had been so engrossed in his desperation that he didn’t even notice the other approaching. How embarrassing.

Marco held up his hands in apology, smiling. “Sorry Jean.” But Jean noticed he was trying hard not to laugh. He narrowed his eyes at him, but Marco smile only grew wider.

They started walking in the castle’s direction, Marco talking about today’s training. Jean was trying his best to keep his expression neutral, pretending he wasn’t having an existential crisis and turning into an emotional sap, but he was fidgeting, _a lot_ , his stupid body betraying him. And he could practically _feel_ Marco’s curiosity radiating from him. The other wouldn’t resist much longer before asking something. Jean crossed his fingers mentally, hoping that maybe, _maybe_ Marco would just forget—

“So… how was your day?” Marco asked casually, with his best innocent expression. _There it is._ Jean screamed internally.

“Fine, fine. Completely fine. Wonderful.” Jean answered quickly and smiled at his friend, trying to keep his cool.

Marco raised his eyebrows at him. But before he could say anything, Jean heard someone shout his name and he looked forward. A few meters ahead he saw Eren with Mikasa and Armin. The boy waved at him and Jean waved back. He just realized what he had done when he saw Marco giving him a strange look, a knowing smile on his face. _Shit._

Jean lowered his hand quickly, feeling his face heat up. "What?"

Marco looked forward, still smiling. "Nothing. It's just… you both seem to be getting along well."

Jean felt the blush deepening on his face. He turned his head away from Marco. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He muttered.

Marco chuckled. “Is he much different as a child?”

Jean huffed. “He’s still a brat, but my Eren is absolutely much more annoying.”

“ _Your_ Eren?”

Jean felt his eyes widen. Marco was looking at him with an arched brow, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips.

Jean decided this talk wasn’t helping his attempts to control his emotional state _at all_. So before Marco could say something else, he began to walk faster. He wasn’t running away, of course not. This was a strategic retreat. He looked back at his friend, who stood there blinking at him. “C’mon Marco! I don’t want to get leftovers for dinner!”

Marco rolled his eyes and sighed, clearly seeing through his lame excuse. But he began to follow him nonetheless and Jean sighed, relieved.

\-----

After dinner – when Eren gave a bit of his pasta to Jean, who in return gave him half of his bread, Jean went to the storage room to get new clothes for Eren. Commander Erwin had ordered that they were bought in the city and brought to the castle. And now Jean was walking down the corridors, holding a bundle of clothes in his arms, the stone floor barely lit by the torches on the walls. He wasn’t afraid, he assured himself as he shivered. It was just that this place was kind of terrifying at night. He started to walk faster.

Then he felt a sudden presence by his side. “Jean.”

Jean barely prevented the scream from escaping his lips. Mikasa had come out of nowhere and now she was leaning against the wall, the dim light illuminating her face. _Holy freaking shit._ Jean took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. It seemed that there was a conspiracy to scare him to death today.

“Mikasa.” He greeted her with a nod, trying to hide his nervousness. Jean started replaying the whole day in his mind, going over every detail to know if he had done anything remotely wrong.

“Eren said he had fun today.” Mikasa said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” He furrowed his brows. Of all things Jean had imagined she could say or do – like break all his bones, for example, this was not one of them.

“He looks happy. And he said you’re _special_.” Mikasa said, a small smile appearing on her face after she pronounced the words. “You’re doing a good job, Jean, I hope it remains like that.” Then she turned around and entered one of the doors that Jean believed belonged to the girls’ bedroom.

_What the hell was that?_ Jean began walking again, her words repeating in his head. _Special_. It was just one word, a _simple_ word. Then _why_ was it making him feel like this? He huffed, frustrated, deciding to not let the fluttering in his chest get the better of him this time and failing miserably.

Jean looked back over his shoulder to where Mikasa had been. Well, at least he was still alive.

\-----

Jean opened the door to the boys’ bedroom. Unlike at the barracks when they were trainees, there were only a few of them now. Many had joined the Military and the Garrison, but a lot of them had lost their lives in the battles that took place. And Jean would have been one of them if it weren’t for Eren.

The same Eren that was now jumping on his bed. The boy stopped abruptly when he saw Jean standing at the door and sat on the bed with a puff _._

_Isn’t he cute?_ His brain suggested. Jean hit his head with one of his hands. It was his last resort. Maybe if he had a concussion his brain would stop with this madness.

“Jean, man, are you alright?” Connie asked. Jean only glared at him, furious with himself at his failed attempt at not thinking about Eren like that, and turned to Eren.

“What are you doing?” He asked, putting the bundle of clothes on the bed where Eren normally slept.

After a moment of hesitation, Eren looked at him and smiled, sprawling on Jean’s bed. “I’m going to sleep here today!”

Jean scoffed. “No, you are not.” He said, preparing Eren’s bed for him to sleep in.

Eren looked at Armin, who nodded slightly, encouraging him. The boy took a deep breath. “But if I sleep in my bed I will probably have nightmares and I will wake you up at night so it’s better if I sleep with you already.” He said everything in one breath.

Jean narrowed his eyes at him and then at Armin, who seemed to have found something _fascinating_ in his blanket and was staring at it intently. This couldn’t have been just Eren’s idea, although Jean still believed he was a little evil genius. He’d deal with Armin later.

Eren, realizing that his plan wasn’t working, resorted to his ultimate weapon – the puppy eyes. Jean pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine.” He said through gritted teeth. Eren beamed at him. “But I get the right side of the bed.”

“But I like the right side.” Eren said, pouting.

Jean crossed his arms. “ _But_ , the bed is _mine_ and I sleep where I want.”

Eren crossed his arms too and frowned, puffing out his cheeks.

Marco intervened. “ _Jean._ ”

“He started it!” Jean said, exasperated, but Marco gave him _the_ look and Jean knew he didn’t stand a chance.

He threw his arms in the air, defeated. “Fine! Whatever! You can sleep on the right side.” He said and looked away, crossing his arms again.

“Jean, you’re pouting.” Connie said helpfully from his bed.

“I’m not!”

Then Jean felt arms curling around his legs. He looked down and saw a mop of brown hair. Eren was hugging him. “Thank you, Jean.” The boy looked up at him, a smile filled with so much joy that it was absolutely stunning.

_That’s it._ Jean thought. _That’s the final blow._ He could feel it shattering whatever resistance and denial he had left inside. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t care about this little ball of energy anymore. Because he did, a lot.

Jean then became aware of the eyes watching them intently. He felt his cheeks warm up. “It was nothing.” He patted Eren’s head awkwardly, but the boy didn’t look like he’d let go of him soon. Jean cleared his throat and carefully disentangled himself from Eren’s arms. “Now go to sleep before I change my mind. Go, go!” He said, pushing Eren forward gently.

Jean looked over at the other boys who were watching everything with smiles on their faces. “ _Don’t say a word._ ” He whispered, narrowing his eyes. Their smiles only grew wider before they turned in their beds, talking between themselves. Jean sighed. They’d never let him live this down. But then he remembered the joy in Eren’s expression and he knew he didn’t really mind. He smiled to himself and went to get ready to sleep.

 

Eren was already under the covers when Jean went to lie down. He was curled into a small ball on the right side near the wall, like he didn’t want to be noticed. Maybe Eren was afraid he would change his mind. Jean felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He reached out and carefully brushed Eren’s hair out of his face and the boy snuggled more into the blankets. Yeah, okay, he _was_ the cutest thing. Jean felt his smile widen. And _bam_ , the transformation to a complete sap was completed. There was no going back now. But Jean couldn’t find it in himself to be concerned about it and he kept smiling as he lied down beside Eren.

There were still a few minutes before the lights went out. The chattering grew quiet and Jean closed his eyes, beginning to relax. At least now he could finally have his well deserved rest.

“Hey Jean, why don’t you tell Eren a bedtime story?” Connie’s voice cut through the silence.

Eren sat up abruptly. “A story?!” He looked eagerly at Jean.

Jean covered his face with his hands. He wondered if he could smother himself to death like this. But besides that, he swore he was going to kill _Connie_ when he had an opportunity.

He propped himself on one elbow and looked at the offensive presence on the other side of the room. “Why don’t _you_ tell him a bedtime story?” He said, putting as much sarcasm in his voice as he could.

Connie only smirked at him. “Well, Eren wants to hear a story from _you_ , not me. Right, Eren?” He said and looked at the boy. Jean narrowed his eyes at Connie, debating killing him _right now_.

But then Eren nodded enthusiastically and turned to Jean with big, pleading eyes. “Please Jean, pretty please! I promise I won’t ask you for anything anymore!” Eren put his little hands together and his anger basically melted.

Jean sighed, passing a hand over his face. He didn’t have a choice. He wouldn’t get any sleep unless he told a story, _any_ story. Eren was basically vibrating from excitement.

“ _Fine._ Now calm down already, will you?” Jean said, sitting up. Eren stopped instantly and shuffled a little closer to him. Jean saw the others getting comfortable in their beds to hear the story as well. He hated all of them.

He closed his eyes for a moment, searching through his memories for a tale, a story, _anything_. He then remembered one that he had heard from an old lady that used to live near his house. He opened his eyes and was met by Eren’s eager expression. He smiled to himself. Yes, it’d be perfect _._

Jean cleared his throat and Eren leaned forward a bit, waiting. “Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a village surrounded by Wall Maria…”

Eren gasped. “Just like me!” Jean made a soft shushing sound and Eren quickly covered his mouth with both hands. “ _Sorry_.” He whispered.

Jean resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks and continued. “Every day, he woke up before dawn to see the sun rise. He’d look at the bright light illuminating everything and he’d ask himself where the sun came from. Where did it go at night? Did it have a home? Maybe it came from a far away land, the land of the rising sun. He had tried asking the people from his village, but they said to not worry about it, that he should be worrying about more important things. But when he looked at the bright sky, he knew someday he’d find out.

One day, he went to collect wood in the forest when he saw the old witch’s cabin. The people of his village feared the woman and always said to never go near her. But the boy was curious. Maybe she could give him the answer. Maybe she could tell him where the sun came from.

He knocked on the door and an old woman received him. He asked the same question he always did to everyone. She said she didn’t know, but she could help him find out. All he had to do was to carry her on his back while he climbed the Wall. ‘But there's no way to climb the Wall', he said. 'Trust me', was her only answer.

So, in the next day, when night had fallen, the boy met with the woman at Wall Maria’s base. She said magic words that made the wind blow faster and the air grow cold. And then the stones of the Wall moved until they formed steps that went up until they disappeared from sight. Putting the woman carefully on his back, the boy began to climb.

He climbed for some time, until his legs hurt and he almost couldn’t feel his arms. ‘The sun will appear soon.’ The old lady kept warning him and he continued climbing, making his way up the path carved in the imposing Wall.

After a long time, he finally reached the top. Sun rays were beginning to appear in the horizon as he looked at everything, mesmerized. Then the sun itself appeared on the horizon, sending away all the darkness from the night. It seemed so close that the boy stretched his hand out to touch it. ‘If you continue, there’s no going back’ the witch said. But the sun was calling him, urging him to take another step. And he complied. He stretched out to touch the light… and he slipped.”

Jean stopped when he heard Eren’s gasp. He was looking at Jean apprehensively, his hands clutching the covers tightly around his body. And giving a quick look around, Jean saw that the others weren’t much different.

He smiled to himself and went back to the story. “The boy then felt the wind caressing his face and he realized he was _flying_. Flying through the sky, _free_. Free as only the birds were. He looked back to the Wall, but the witch had disappeared. And so he kept going, following the wind, letting it embrace him and push him forward, guiding him to the land of the rising sun.”

After the last words, the room went silent and Jean sighed quietly in contentment. He didn’t know why, but there was something about this tale that always made him feel light and peaceful.

“Wow.” Eren whispered in awe and the other boys nodded in agreement. Jean smiled proudly. He shouldn’t feel so happy because they, especially Eren, liked his story, but he did.

“Nice story, Jean.” Armin said while yawning and everyone shuffled in their beds, the tiredness of the day finally getting to them.

Eren rubbed his eyes with weak fists and tilted his head to the side, a yawn escaping his lips. The contagious yawn hit Jean too and he realized how physically _and_ emotionally exhausted he was. He lifted the covers of his bed and Eren sleepily slipped underneath, nuzzling his face into the pillow and closing his eyes. Jean smiled as he felt a wave of fondness stretching in his chest. Eren _was_ utterly adorable. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Eren’s forehead, seeing small smile appear on the boy’s face. Then he laid on his back and arranged himself on the bed, trying to give Eren more space. The lights went out minutes after, a comfortable silence settling in the dark room.

Jean was on the verge of sleep when he felt Eren move closer to him. “Jean?” He whispered.

“Hm?” Jean answered, sleep coating his voice.

“I also want to know where the sun comes from.” He paused for a moment. “Can you come with me?” Eren whispered the last sentence so low that Jean wasn't sure if he had heard it right, but he felt his heart tightening nonetheless.

He turned to Eren, fully awake now. “Okay.”

“Promise?” Eren snuggled closer to him, his head touching Jean’s chest.

“I promise.” Jean said, fighting against the lump forming in his throat.

He felt a small hand clutch at his shirt and he put one arm protectively around the small body in front of him, pressing the boy against his chest. Eren’s grip tightened on Jean, leaning his face deeper into his torso. With his head rested on top of Eren’s, Jean felt the boy’s body relax and his breathing become softer. Lulled by Eren’s steady heartbeat under his arm, he fell asleep shortly after, wondering if he’d be able to keep the promise he had made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to update soon, but I can't promise anything though.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> responsibilities strike again, but finally the new chapter is here!
> 
> and thank you guys so much for all the support, kudos and also the wonderful comments! It means a lot, so really, thank you, you guys are awesome <3

Jean woke up with a foot on his face. _What the…_ He picked up the intruding limb and sat up, searching for its source, squinting his eyes at the bright light.

Apparently, Eren had turned during the night and now was sprawled upside down on the bed, his hair a mess around his face. Jean rolled his eyes and felt his lips quirk up, quietly putting the boy’s leg down. Looking around, he saw the others were already getting up. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes and stretched, feeling his back crack.

Then he turned to the sleeping boy by his side and shook him carefully. “Eren, wake up.”

No answer, not even a movement. Jean sighed and stood up.

“ _Eren._ ” He shook him harder this time. Eren only mumbled something about twenty more minutes – _twenty?!_ – and turned over, curling into a ball. Jean heard a quiet laugh behind him and looked around. Armin was watching the scene, his expression a mix of amusement and… was that freaking _pity_?

“He was impossible to wake up when we were little. Good luck.” Armin said and rushed off the door before Jean could ask him for help. The little shit.

Jean looked back at the mess of limbs and covers on his bed. He thought that Eren would be one of those hyperactive children that woke up at ungodly hours of the morning and kept jumping and screaming and running all day, but apparently Eren slept like a log even as a child. Jean shook his head. Some things never change.

He then sat at the edge of the bed. “Eren. Wake. Up.” He said, poking him with each word.

This time, the boy turned around and grabbed Jean’s arm, nuzzling his head on it.

Jean froze and slowly looked down. Eren had his arm in a firm hold, but he still seemed to be fast asleep, with his eyes closed and breathing even. Jean knew he should move or they’d be late, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not when Eren had such a peaceful expression on his face.

He brushed a few strands of hair from Eren’s eyes and the light coming from the window illuminated the boy’s features. Eren scrunched up his nose and Jean watched his face carefully, narrowing his eyes. _Is that…?_ He looked closer and saw little freckles scattered on Eren’s nose, almost unnoticeable on his skin.

He stared at those small spots in disbelief. How could Eren become more adorable by the second? He didn’t know. Sorcery, maybe? He touched one in the middle of his nose and Eren made a little annoyed noise, hiding his face on Jean’s arm. Jean smiled and wondered if _his_ Eren still had those small freckles.

_Oh._

This was a matter of extreme importance, so Jean made a mental note to check in the future. But for now, he’d keep searching for more adorable traits that adorned the small Eren that he hadn't noticed on the older one.

Looking around again, he saw that all the others had already changed and had left the room. _Dammit_. Jean looked once more at Eren holding his arm and tried to pull it out of his embrace, but the boy didn’t bulge. He sighed. It would be another _long_ day.

\-----

After some minutes of struggling and trying to make Eren leave the bed and put his head inside the right hole of his shirt, Jean entered the dining hall carrying a half-asleep Eren on his back. The boy couldn’t even stand properly, half asleep as he was, and kept leaning on Jean while brushing his teeth, so it couldn’t be helped. Somehow, Marco and the others found the situation really amusing, but Jean didn’t find it amusing _at all_. Eren was _heavy_ and Jean was almost a hundred percent sure that the wet spot on his shoulder wasn’t exactly water. Yeah.

As they sat on the table, Jean had the difficult task of making Eren actually eat the food and not sleep on top of it. While he fed him, Eren kept his eyes shut, his small hand holding Jean’s shirt absentmindedly.

He was giving Eren a piece of apple when Levi appeared to inform they’d have another simulation. Jean turned to look at him, distracted, and Eren bit his fingers, making him yelp in surprise.

But before he could scold the boy, he heard Mikasa offer to take care of Eren while Jean did his part of the training, and he stopped, baffled. And the most unbelievable of all of it was that after thinking for a few moments, Levi agreed.

Jean was in awe. He would give them both a hug if he didn’t know they would probably punch him – or worse, for that, so he thanked them the best he could. No hugs.

Levi huffed. “Just go get your 3DMG already.”

At the mention of the 3DMG, Eren perked his head up, suddenly wide awake. “Oh! Are you going to fly again Jean?!”

Jean nodded slowly, looking at him with wide eyes, taken aback by the sudden mood change. Then he had a sudden thought. Was Eren actually _pretending_ to be asleep? He narrowed his eyes, but the boy kept beaming at him like nothing was wrong, so Jean decided to let it slide this time.

Eren then turned to look at Mikasa sitting in front of him, his hands tapping excitedly on the table. “Can we see it Mikasa? Can we?”

Mikasa gave him a small smile before standing. “Sure. Do you want to go now?” Eren nodded enthusiastically and jumped from the bench before rushing to grab her stretched hand.

Jean got up as the others began to leave, still astonished at how Eren was completely awake now. He watched as the same Eren who couldn’t even open his eyes minutes ago was now by Mikasa’s side, trying his best to refrain his eagerness and not pull on her hand. Jean smiled, shaking his head lightly. _Unbelievable._

Mikasa then turned to him and Armin before leaving. “We’ll meet up with you guys later.” As they both nodded, Mikasa began to walk, a bouncing Eren by her side.

When they were almost at the door, Eren gave a little gasp and stopped. “Mikasa, I forgot!”

Jean watched with an arched brow as Eren said something to her and she nodded. But before he could process what was happening, he saw Eren running back in his direction and then the boy hugged his legs.

Jean stared down at him in astonishment as Eren quickly released him.

“I forgot to say bye.” Eren said matter-of-factly and then waved, going back to Mikasa, who was waiting with a corner of her mouth pulled up slightly.

Jean was sure he’d still be watching them go with a silly look on his face if Levi didn’t came back barking at everyone who was left to hurry the fuck up. So he turned hurriedly to follow Armin and Marco to the training field.

He listened to them talking distractedly, an uncomfortable feeling growing in his chest for leaving Eren’s side, as if something bad would happen. Jean breathed deeply, trying to calm down, and reminded himself that Eren would be with _Mikasa,_ for crying out loud, and if something actually happened, she’d definitely take care of it.

And with that thought in mind, he headed to training feeling a little better.

\-----

The simulation was happening in the middle of a forest near the castle filled with tall and spaced out trees. It wasn’t anything new for Jean, but he kept smiling as he flew through the air with the 3DMG. The feeling of freedom, of the wind hitting his face and filling his lungs with air, he had missed it. Also, they didn’t need to go very high up for the training, but he went anyway, getting the most out of his gear. And from the top of the trees, sometimes he could see two small figures sitting on a hill nearby. It gave him a boost of motivation and Jean trained harder than ever, hoping Eren could see his kick-ass moves.

When they had a little break, Jean sat down on the grass inside the forest, stretching his legs. He hissed at the soreness.

“You’re really motivated today.” Jean looked up and saw Armin walking in his direction.

Jean waved a dismissive hand in front of himself. “I was just trying to catch up with you guys, since I missed the last training and everything.”

Armin arched a skeptical brow at him, smiling, before sitting down by his side.

They fell into an easy conversation for a few minutes until Armin asked. “So, did Eren say something about his parents to you?”

Jean blinked. He hadn’t thought about that.

Thinking back, he realized Eren hadn’t said anything about his parents. He hadn’t even asked about them, not even once. Jean furrowed his brows.

“No… no, he didn’t.” He said and Armin hummed and nodded in response, as if he was already expecting this answer. Jean looked at him. “But why? Did you guys tell him about them?”

Armin was looking up distractedly at the trees, little spots of light illuminating his thoughtful expression. “No… Actually, he didn’t ask about his parents anytime, not even when we explained he’d be staying with us for a while.”

Jean hesitated. “That’s… strange.”

Armin nodded again. “Hanji has a theory, though. They believe Eren has a sense of what happened to his parents. Not like a memory, you see, but some sort of sensation. Losing both of his parents had a big impact on him, so his mind kind of remembers it, even if he doesn’t.” Armin shrugged. “Or something like that.”

Jean hummed, looking up as a gust of wind shook the trees. “Maybe that’s why he trusted us so quickly. He subconsciously remembered us.”

“And maybe that’s why he’s so fond of you.” Armin looked at him with a smile.

Jean spluttered, staring at Armin in shock. “W-what? That’s absurd Armin, Eren…” He stopped before he said _hates me_. He and Eren argued a lot, but that didn’t mean the other _hated_ him, right? _Right?_ “He… doesn’t like me.” Jean looked away and gave what he hoped came over as a nonchalant shrug.

Armin watched him before giving a quiet laugh and shaking his head. He then stood up and smiled down at Jean, an amused glint in his eyes. “He doesn’t dislike you as much as you think.” He then waved at him and went to where Levi was calling everyone back, leaving Jean alone with his confused thoughts for the 10 seconds before Levi began yelling at him to get his ass back to work.

\-----

As Jean finished his part of the training earlier, he walked over to the hill to take his position of temporary guardian back and let Mikasa go to practice. Even if he had been pissed with it at the beginning, he actually liked the term ‘guardian’. _Jean, the Guardian_ , sounded really nice actually. It made him feel _powerful_ , responsible and--

“Jean!”

Jean looked up and saw Eren running in his direction. The boy was running so fast that Jean didn’t knew if he’d be able to stop on his own. So he kneeled down and caught the boys in his arms just in time, the force of the hug nearly bowling him over.

“Woah, woah! Easy there, buddy.” Jean said, grinning, as he tried to steady them both.

Apparently unfazed, Eren released him from the hug and began moving his arms around excitedly. “That was like super _awesome_! You flew like _whoosh_! And then you turned and _bam_!”

He then began to imitate some 3DMG movements and Jean couldn’t help but laugh. He felt like he had accomplished a mission. All his extra effort in the training had paid off. He’d come back with sore muscles everyday if it meant Eren would be delighted like this.

He ruffled Eren’s hair and then looked forward. Just to see Mikasa watching them with an amused expression. _Shit._ Jean had totally forgotten about her. He got up, pulling himself together.

“Hey… Mikasa.” He said, scratching the back of his neck. “I finished the training earlier so…” He trailed off as Mikasa stared at him. But before he could panic, she gave a quiet chuckle, shaking her head, and stretched her hand to tidy Eren’s hair, earning a groan from the boy who tried to escape from her.

Eren then went to hide behind Jean and Mikasa chuckled again before waving and turning to walk down the hill to where the training was still going on.

She had only gone five steps when Eren shook his head like a dog coming out of water, messing his hair up again. Jean snickered and ruffled the boy’s hair one more time, increasing the chaos and Eren grinned up at him.

After Mikasa was out of sight, they sat down side by side on the grass, watching the other soldiers finish their 3DMG exercise.

“Oh!” Eren said, eyebrows shooting up. He searched in his little pockets and then hesitated, looking down at his lap and fumbling with his hands.

“What?” Jean said, trying to peer at Eren’s face, intrigued by his shy behavior.

Eren stared at him for a moment, before turning his face down again. “Hm, here.” He said and put something in Jean’s hand. Looking down, Jean saw a green circle on his palm. He looked closer and saw it was actually a bracelet made of grass. _Oh._

Jean picked the bracelet up carefully with his fingers, turning it and seeing the little green pieces of grass intertwined delicately together. “It’s beautiful… Did you make it?”

Eren looked up quickly. “I did.” He nodded, straightening his back a little, proud. Then he stopped for a second before mumbling. “Mikasa only helped a little bit.” Jean chuckled.

Eren got closer to him, shyness gone, and pointed to the bracelet. “It’s a friendship bracelet. This one is yours. I made one for me too, look.” He stretched his small arm, where an identical bracelet was tied up around his right wrist. _OH._

Jean stared at the bracelet in his hand. He could feel the swell of emotions trying to burble up in his chest, threatening to swallow him whole. Something in his eyes began to burn and he closed them hastily. _Don’t you dare to fucking cry, Kirschtein._ Anything _but crying._ He breathed deeply and forced himself to look at Eren, who had an expectant expression on his face, waiting for his reaction.

He smiled the best he could. “Can you… tie it up to me?” Jean managed to say in a wobbly voice. _Dammit._

But Eren didn’t seem to notice anything wrong and beamed at him, promptly tying the bracelet around Jean’s left wrist with his small fingers.

When he finished he threw his arms up in the air. “Now we’re going to be friends for a gazillion years!” 

Jean chuckled, admiring the green ornament in his arm. “A gazillion?” 

“Yeah, it means forever.” Eren said, grinning. Jean blinked and looked at him. “There’s no going back.” Eren added quickly, furrowing his brows, as if Jean would change his mind.

Jean stared at him for a moment before he felt laughter bubble up in his chest and Eren soon began to laugh with him. He wiped the tears - _of laughter! -_ from his eyes and put an arm around the boy’s shoulders.

“Alright then.” Jean said, looking down at him. He stretched out his free hand. “Friends?”

Eren smiled and shook his hand. “Best friends!” He then rested his head on Jean’s torso, shuffling a little to get comfortable and went back to watch the soldiers fly between the trees.

 _Forever_ kept echoing through Jean’s head. Forever is a long time, _too long_ , even more when everything could change all of a sudden. _And it will_. Jean thought. Soon Eren would get back to normal and they’d go back to the same way they were before. He forced himself to not be disappointed. But maybe… maybe Eren would remember what happened and… would probably mock him forever. _Ugh._ He passed a hand over his hair, sighing.

Eren’s laugh suddenly took him out of his thoughts. Mikasa had made a difficult move and Eren pointed at her while grabbing the hem of Jean’s shirt. “Did you see that? She’s awesome!”

Jean smiled down at him. “Yeah, she is.”

“But you’re like, _super_ awesome.” Eren said, looking up with a serious face.

Jean looked at him, a smile playing on his lips. “Do you think so?” Eren nodded solemnly and Jean chuckled, pulling him closer. “Thank you, Eren. You’re super awesome too.” He then hesitated before leaning down to press a gentle kiss to the boy’s hair. Eren blinked at him before giving a little giggle and nuzzling his head back on Jean’s torso, hiding his face. Jean didn’t have any doubts now. It _had_ to be sorcery that made Eren get more adorable by the second.

And while the training went on, Jean smiled when he heard Eren’s delighted laugh. He then gave a brief look at the delicate matching bracelets on their wrists, and decided he wouldn’t worry about anything at the moment.

\-----

They went to join the others when the simulation ended. Jean kept holding Eren’s hand as they walked over to the path that lead to the castle, their bracelets now a bright green under the sun.

As they approached, he could feel the other soldiers staring, and sometimes an ‘aw’ was heard, but Jean wasn’t paying attention. What really mattered to him was the way Eren walked by his side, with his back straightened and chest puffed out, doing his best to show to everyone his new ornament.

They walked to where their friends were waiting and Jean tried hard not to laugh at how Mikasa shook her head disapprovingly at the disheveled state of Eren’s hair. He turned when he heard a dreamy sigh and saw Sasha looking at them with an expression of total adoration on her face. She whispered something about ‘dying of cuteness’ and ‘this is almost as good as lunch’ - whatever the _hell_ that meant, to Connie, who just rolled his eyes at her.

“Wow.” Marco said as he kneeled by Eren’s side and pointed at his arm. “These are some nice bracelets! Did you make them, Eren?” Jean almost snorted at the way Eren’s face lit up. Marco really had a way with children.

“I did!” Eren smiled widely and stretched his arm for the other to see. “They’re friendship bracelets.” He explained to Marco, serious, like this was a complex matter and the other nodded gravely. “It’s because me and Jean are best friends, right Jean?” Eren then looked up at Jean by his side with a bright smile.

Jean squeezed his hand and smiled back. “Yeah, we are.”

As Sasha squealed and shook a confused Connie by his shoulders, Marco stood up and grinned at Jean, cocking an eyebrow. Jean rolled his eyes and looked away, only to see Armin looking at him with a knowing smile. Then he almost huffed in exasperation as all his friends were looking at him with smiles on their faces. Jean arched a brow, but they just kept beaming at him, so he tsked and looked away, feeling his face heat up.

Then he noticed that Eren, who was still holding his hand tightly, was smiling at him too, his face filled with total contentment, and Jean remembered he had just admitted without hesitation that they were best friends. And for the look on Eren’s face, it probably had meant a lot to him.

Jean felt that warm feeling back in his chest and although their friends were still staring at them, he couldn’t help the found smile that formed on his lips as he squeezed Eren’s hand, feeling him squeeze back. When Jean looked up, the others smiled teasingly at him one last time before beginning to talk about the day’s training. 

Soon they all began to head back to the castle together and Jean could still see the little sidelong glances his friends gave him now and again, but overall, they left him alone, at least for now.

 

 

A few minutes later, while they walked, Jean watched as by his side, Eren jumped over little stones on the path. The boy was really serious about not stepping on them. Jean didn’t understand the fun or even the _purpose_ of this, but oh well, _children_.

He then noticed the others soldiers around them talking excitedly about something and commented that with Marco, who was walking by his side, fascinated by Eren’s little game. Jean had to call him twice before he answered.

“Oh, they’re excited about the Light Festival.” Marco said, smiling at him apologetically.

Ah, the Festival. Jean remembered it vaguely from his memories. He had gone to it a few times with his parents when he was little. The streets were all full of bright colors and decorated with flowers, people talked and laughed, dancing to the music that flooded the city. And at night, they lit bonfires all around the place, sitting by them and singing. For one day, people forgot about their reality and enjoyed the beauty of life and nature, or that’s what his mother used to say to him. But actually, all he cared about was eating a lot of sweets and watching puppets shows.

Eren gasped by his side, stones now forgotten. “A festival?” He looked up at Jean with wide eyes. “Can we go?!”

In all honesty, Jean would love to take him to the city, but he didn’t know if Erwin would approve or if it’d be safe to expose Eren to this kind of situation, so he gave him an apologetic look. “I don’t know, Eren.”

The boy lowered his head, making hair fall on his face. “Oh.”

Jean felt his chest clench. “But! We can ask the Commander.” He said quickly and Eren looked at him, face full of hope. “Maybe he’ll approve.”

“Really?!” Eren said, beaming at him.

Jean smiled. “We can try, right?”

\-----

“Absolutely not.” Erwin said, eyes not leaving the paper on the desk in front of him.

Jean’s shoulders sagged. He had come to the Commander’s office and had tried in every way to convince him to let Eren go to the festival, but he had refused all of his proposals.

“I’m sorry Jean, but giving the situation he’s in, it’d be too dangerous.” Erwin continued, finally looking up at him.

“But I’d stay by his side at all--” But before Jean could finish, the office door swung open and Levi’s head appeared in the door frame.

“Oh, sorry for the intrusion.” He said, although he didn’t sound sorry at all. “I need to borrow Kirschtein for a second.” Erwin watched them for a moment before nodding, a hint of amusement in his eyes. Levi then turned to Jean, who was watching them with wide eyes, motioning to him to follow. Jean swallowed dry before saluting the Commander and excusing himself off the room.

When he closed the door, he saw Levi leaning against the corridor’s wall looking at his nails. “You have to promise me you’ll take care of the brat.”

“What--”

Levi tsked and looked at him. “I’m going to convince Erwin, but you have to take care of Jaeger. You won’t take your eyes of him for even a second. Do I make myself clear?”

Jean didn’t understand why Levi was doing this or better, _how_ he would convince the Commander, but Jean wouldn’t question him. “Yes sir!” He saluted.

“Good.” Levi said, then turned to enter Erwin’s office.

“Heichou.” Levi stopped at the door, looking back. “Thank you.” Jean said, bowing his head. It was the second time the older man had helped him that day and Jean couldn’t believe his luck.

Levi huffed, but Jean noticed a gleam in his eyes before he turned. “Don’t make me regret it.” He said and got into the room.

 

 

When Jean went back outside and gave Eren the news, the boy didn’t waste time before running up to him. He then stopped in front of Jean and pulled on the hem of his shirt, motioning him to crouch down and as a confused Jean complied, Eren enveloped him in a crushing hug. For a six-years-old, Eren was surprisingly strong, and Jean had to breath deeply after the boy released him and went running to tell the others the new information.

Jean chuckled as he watched him go. He then squinted as he looked up at the sun, feeling its warmth on his face, and smiled. Now they just had to wait for the Light Festival to come and see what changes it’d bring with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, the fluff is strong in this one.
> 
> I'll do my best to upload the other chapters in december, but, sadly, I can't promise anything... again... 
> 
> but well, we'll see!


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone!

I don't know if someone is still waiting for the end of this fic, but if there is, I want to deeply apologize. I've been through a rough phase and finishing this fic got harder and harder as the days went by. After more than one year, I'm finally overcoming my struggles and I'm ready to finish this. I just wanted to say that I won't let this story end like this, but it may take time for the chapters to come. Thank you for everyone who took their time to read, comment and give kudos. I never thought so many people would like this story. Thank you.

See you soon!

Khywa


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're finally here, almost two years later. I just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone that didn't give up on the story - the only reason I was able to finish was because of you guys - and to Meagan, that after all this time, was still willing to help me with these final chapters :')
> 
> Enjoy!!

In the five days that  had  passed, Jean learned many things about little Eren. Things that he hadn’t noticed before but were so… well,  _ Eren,  _ that they fitted him completely.

Like how he enjoyed picking flowers and he knew the names of a bunch of them. Or how he talked with the horses when Jean had to clean the stables, having deep conversations about life -  that only children can think of, with them. Once, Jean heard him  asking a beautiful brown horse if he ate a lot of hay he would be as big as the horse. Then the animal made a brief sound and Eren turned pensive, muttering a ‘Yes, I hadn’t thought about that,’ Jean decided to watch Eren more carefully to ensure no hay was eaten by anyone other than the horses. Also, Jean now had to give him a forehead kiss every night before they went to sleep, since Eren claimed he couldn’t sleep without it. Go figure. And there were times when Eren thought Jean wasn’t paying attention, he would give names to stray cats that wandered the castle, creating adventures for them. Mr. Soft Tummy’s quest for the enchanted glass of milk was one of his personal favorites.

Telling bedtime stories had become a tradition in the boy’s bedroom, and every night one of them had a different tale to share. Even Eren told a story once. It was about two  _ best _ friends, Aaron and John, who defeated all the titans together and freed his friends and all humanity from inside of the Walls. Jean was really fond of this one.

And with each day that passed, Jean grew more and more  captivated  by Eren’s presence. He didn’t want to think that that warmth would go away. They had become inseparable.

But one day, while passing through corridors, Jean heard rumors about an attempt to enter the castle at night, although nothing had been confirmed. The patrols were reinforced and Mikasa herself offered to take the job. The rumors  stopped, but  Jean began to watch Eren more carefully.

\-----

B efore Jean realized, the day of the Light Festival had come. And, coincidentally, the first thing he saw upon waking up was exactly that:  _ light _ . Bright and blinding light. He was having a really nice dream when one of his eyelids opened as if by magic and light invaded his left eye, blinding him. He grunted loudly and clenched his eyes tightly.  _ What the... _

Then the light was stopped by a shadow and before Jean’s sleeping brain had time to process what was happening, something climbed  on to  his chest, making him groan because of the extra weight and then he heard a whispering voice.

"Jean?" And his eyelid magically opened again. Well, not magically, since he found out the culprit was a small finger. But instead of light, this time he came face to face with two green eyes staring at him. "Are you awake?"

Jean took Eren’s small hand in his – because obviously it was Eren, since who else would shove their finger in a sleeping person’s eye? – Then he closed his eyes again, breathing deeply and feeling a small smile forming on his face. "No."

Eren retreated his hand and made a sound of disappointment. Then the weight on Jean’s chest increased, making him grunt again. Jean opened one of his eyes and looked down, where he saw Eren with his head on his chest, a frown on his face.

The boy then caught him spying and his face lit up. Jean closed his eye quickly, but it was too late. He felt Eren sit on his chest, crushing some of his ribs. "You're awake!"

"I'm not." Jean then rolled to the side, making Eren fall on the bed.

At that point, he almost could feel Eren’s pout. The boy began to shake him. "C’moooon Jean! It’s today!"

Jean opened one eye again and looked at the boy who loomed over him. "What is today?" He wanted to play dumb, but the smile on his face didn’t help him much.

Eren threw his arms up, laughing. "The Festival, duh!"

But before Jean could ask ‘ What festival? ', a pillow was thrown on his face.

"Stop being an ass and get up, Jean!” He heard Connie yell across the room.

Jean tsked and threw the pillow back, barely missing  Connie , while Eren laughed by his side. He then turned to the boy and ruffled his hair, before stretching and getting up to what he would soon discover to be the  _ longest _ of all days.

 

In and out of the castle, everything was chaos, with everyone who was going trying to get ready in time to leave. Heichou had managed to convince Erwin, as he had promised, but even so, the commander ordered patrols to be scattered around the city to watch everything. Only a few soldiers would use the 3DMG, in case of an emergency, and would be hidden, but the rest would be in ordinary clothes to avoid attracting attention. The city would be full, which would make it easier for soldiers to blend in, but more difficult to patrol.

Erwin had talked to Eren, explaining that the  conditions for him to go to the Festival  were that he had to behave and not  roam away from Jean and the others. He said everything in a very formal way, declaring Eren an  honorary member of the Survey Corps, but his eyes  shined and he gave a faint smile when he saw the look of determination and concentration on the boy’s face. Erwin also explained to  the e mergency plan, saying that everyone should go to  the meeting point if something happened. Said point being a big tower in the middle of the city, since if someone got lost, it would be easy to find.

Eager as he was, Eren almost swallowed all of his breakfast, finishing even before Sasha, and practically dragged Jean – who still had half of his bread in his mouth – out of the cafeteria to go get ready for the Festival.

In about 10 minutes Eren was ready, and after asking for the fifth time if Jean had finished, he gave up and went to wait for him outside along with the others, which unlike Jean, didn’t care about their appearance and probably didn’t even comb their hair. He at least tried to style his locks by running his fingers through them. And as he did that, he thought about the Festival.

He remembered something that that old lady from his city told him in secret. She knew a lot of things that would make the king’s and the religious’ hair stand on end. She said that before the Walls were created, this festival was held in honor of a sun goddess. People would honor her  on this day, and she would help them with the harvest and  their  health. And that the bonfires they lit at night were made to protect against evil spirits, which were believed to roam freely that day. Jean chuckled to himself. That lady really knew how to tell stories.

But actually, the story kind of made sense, since the people sang songs about the sun and it’s power, and the decorations were mostly of yellow and orange hues, and sunflowers could be seen in almost every corner…

He scoffed. Well, it really was the  _ Light _ Festival so it wasn’t a surprise that there would be  _ light _ and bright things all around, right? Jean smiled to himself. He should stop taking fairy tales  so  seriously.

Taking one last look in the mirror, his smile vanished as Levi’s words to take care of Eren entered his mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  _ Everything will be all right. _ Then with a glance to the grass bracelet on his left arm, he left the room.

Outside, Eren was engrossed in a conversation with Marco, who was the first one to see Jean and stopped talking. With a smile, he looked at Eren and nodded his head in Jean’s direction – in what he thought was a subtle way – and winked. Jean narrowed his eyes to his friend while Eren ran up to him and clung to his hand, but Mark just smiled at him, as always, and Jean let it pass,  _ as always _ .

F inally, they headed  out  to the city in small covered wagons. During the trip, Jean watched as Eren bounced on his seat by his side and he believed it wasn’t only because of the rocks on the way. Eren was probably getting in ‘annoying ball of energy’ mode and would stay  in it for a long time. Smiling to himself, Jean squeezed the boy’s hand, which was still  in his since  they had left the castle, and Eren looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear and squeezed back.

Eren’s bouncing only increased when they began to hear the music coming from the city. The boy gasped and looked up at him, his face so full of happiness that Jean realized that bringing him to the Festival was one of the best decisions he had made in his life.

As the music got louder, the more restless the soldiers became . Even Jean tried to sneak a peek to see if they were almost there yet.  When they finally passed through the city’s gate and got out of the wagons, a collective sigh was heard.

"Wow." Eren said by his side and Jean nodded, because really,  _ wow _ , he didn’t remember the festival being so beautiful.

From where he was he could see flags scattered in the streets, that were all decorated with sunflowers and other yellow flowers that looked like points of light in the midst of people. Music, like Jean hadn’t heard in a long time, mixed with the sound of conversation and children’s laughter. And  he could even see  the big tower rising in the sky.

The atmosphere was surreal for everyone after all that had happened to them, and Jean could see in the astonished faces of the other soldiers that all this color and  the aura of happiness was also a shock for them.

But they didn’t stay still for long. After the initial shock, Jean saw Erwin give a small nod. The ones who would guard the city began to spread and the other soldiers formed groups, starting to venture into the city and to be  enveloped by the happy atmosphere.

As she was going to be one of the guards to use the 3DMG, Mikasa wouldn’t stay with them. The others had tried to convince her to enjoy the Festival, but she wanted to make sure of Eren’s security by herself. And with on e final inspection to see if the boy was well, and a significant nod towards Jean, she walked away with the other guards.

Looking to the side, Jean saw the Commander, Levi and Hanji beginning to walk together with the other officers, probably going to a bar where they wouldn’t be bothered. Levi nodded briefly to Jean, who nodded back, pretending he wasn’t seeing Hanji behind Levi trying to put a yellow flower in his hair. He didn’t want to see what the man would do when he found out.

Marco had suggested that they  go to a square n ear the river that was quieter, so they began to walk around the city. Along the way they saw the places where the bonfires would be lit at night, and when they passed by a street full of food stalls, Sasha heaved a big happy sigh and grabbed the arm of a groaning Connie, saying a quick “We’ll see you guys later,” before vanishing.

Jean, who thought Eren would pull him everywhere, was astonished by the boy's behavior. Eren still hadn’t let go of his hand and walked practically glued to his side. Jean didn’t notice anything unusual until a lady gave the boy a funny look and got away from them. He then realized Eren was looking at everyone with a menacing look on his face, with furrowed brows and everything.

Jean tried hard not to laugh. "Eren, what are you doing?"

The boy gave him a brief glance before turning back to fiercely stare at a man who sold flowers. "Protecting you."

Jean raised an eyebrow. "Protecting me."

Eren was then staring at a  _ dangerous _ mother with a child on her lap. "Marco said you don’t know how to take care of yourself, and that I should take care of you instead."

_ Oh, so when they were talking before, that was what Marco was... _ Marco. Jean frowned and looked at his friend, who was walking a little ahead of him while talking to Armin, but after a few seconds of trying to bore  holes into his friend’s head with his eyes, he sighed and gave up. Marco probably said that so Eren would pay more attention to his surroundings - and probably to also make fun of Jean, but Eren had taken the advice to the extreme and could probably attack anyone who got too close to him.

Jean smiled to himself, feeling a wave of affection rise inside of him as he saw that little being, who barely reached his waist, strive to protect him. But when he was about to explain to Eren that he knew how to take care of himself, Jean felt the boy pull on his hand, causing him to dodge a flower car that was passing by. After blinking for a few seconds, Jean laughed. Eren looked at him with an expression of 'told you so'.

He rolled his eyes before smiling at the boy. "Very well then, but you don’t have to worry so much. And don’t stare at people, alright?"

Eren mumbled something, glaring one last time at a suspicious old lady and then reluctantly nodded his head.

Some time later they were at the square. All four with a crown of yellow flowers on their heads, when a dance group had passed by and insisted - Jean still thought  _ forced _ was a better word, that all of them should  wear one.

Jean would have taken his off, but Eren had asked him to  keep it on , so he was  left sitting  on a stone bench with his back facing the river feeling completely  _ ridiculous _ , watching Eren draw on the floor like the other children near them, all with colored hands because of the chalk. Marco and Armin were sitting on the floor next to Eren, trying to figure out what the various strings and mysterious circles that he had done meant.

"This one is quite beautiful, isn’t it Armin?" Marco said, pointing to two sticks. Jean almost scoffed.

Armin got closer to the drawing. "Yes, yes, very beautiful." He put his hand on his chin as he studied the sticks. "Hmm, are they... trees? Or maybe... candles? "

"No Armin." Eren said, shaking his head with a frown. He then pointed to the short one and then the taller one. "It’s me and Jean."

Armin struggled not to smile too much. "Wow that’s true! I hadn’t noticed the hair before."

The 'hair' consisted of some yellow  marks on the circle head of the bigger stick that was Jean, and a lot of black lines on the smaller one, Eren.

Jean rolled his eyes. Eren then sheepishly looked at Jean with a half smile and Jean grinned at him. "It's great, Eren. You did a great job."

"I don’t know..." They looked toward the new voice and saw Connie approaching with Sasha by his side, various sweets on her both hands. "I think that one looks more like Jean." Connie then pointed to the drawing of another child that looked like a six-legged horse and turned to Eren, smirking. "Don’t you think so, Eren?"

Jean narrowed his eyes.

Eren looked to the other drawing briefly and turned to Connie. "No." He deadpanned and turned back to his drawing.

Jean snickered and smirked at Connie, who rolled his eyes.

Sasha then swallowed a candy and turned to Jean. "Why don’t you draw, Jean? I heard that you’re really good at it. "

Jean could feel the blood rush to his face. He looked away and murmured. "I’m not."

Sasha scoffed. "Oh, nonsense. Get a chalk." She took an orange chalk on the floor and handed it to Jean.

"Sasha..."

"Take. The. Chalk." Sasha hardened her voice.

Jean felt his eyes widen and took the chalk from her hand quickly. Eren beamed at him and patted the ground for Jean to sit beside him. Sasha smiled and ate more sweets, oblivious to the wide-eyed gaze of the others, while Jean sat next to Eren, still not knowing what to do with the chalk in his hand.

He felt Eren poke his arm. "Like this, Jean, look." The boy then drew a small green circle on the floor and looked at Jean expectantly. Jean smiled at Eren and drew an orange circle beside his.

"Aww." Connie put both hands beside his face in an exaggerated pose. Jean broke his chalk in half and threw one part on Connie’s head while Eren laughed.

They remained in the square until the sun was high in the sky. The flower crows had began to attract bees and after a commotion with several screams – none coming from Jean, of course –, the ornaments were floating around in the river.

Then out of nowhere, drums and music could be heard in the streets.

Several children got up quickly, wiping their colored hands on their clothes and making  their parents cringe collectively, and began to pull the adults toward the sound. Eren had stopped drawing and was alert, holding a chalk in his hand as he stretched his neck to try to see what was happening. Even Marco and the others got up from the bench they were sitting to try and see better.

Jean glanced to where the commotion was happening before stretching, wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm, and looking at his drawing. He hadn’t thought much while drawing and just followed the flow. And now his eyes looked at the big yellow sun that stretched in front of him, with several orange and yellow light rays that extended to all sides. He scoffed, rubbing his nose.  _ Really, Jean? A goddamn sun for the light festival? So original. _

He then saw Eren drop the chalk on his hand and get up, curiosity getting the best of him. The boy then gasped and turned to Jean, his eyes shining. "It's a parade! Jean, it’s a parade!"

Jean closed one eye as Eren’s loud and excited voice thundered in his ears. The boy turned back to the commotion in front of him, his colored hands dangerously close to his clothes.

Jean got up, careful so he didn’t step on the drawings that now surrounded him on all sides and looked down at his finished sun.

"And you said you weren’t good at it." Jean looked up and saw Armin smiling as he looked at his ‘wow so original’ light festival sun. Jean opened his mouth to say something, but he felt his arm being pulled to the other side insistently.

"Let’s go see it Jean, come on!" Eren tried to pull him again, his dirty hands  spreading color all over Jean's arm .

"Eren, wait! Calm down." Jean tried to soothe the boy, but without success. He turned with a resigned face to his friends while Eren still pulled him towards a larger street where the music was coming from.

"Go ahead, we’ll catch up with you later!" Marco said, trying to speak louder than the music, which was increasing  in volume . Jean had finally turned to follow Eren, who seemed completely mesmerized, when Marco called again. "And Jean, clean your nose!" He said, imitating the gesture.

Jean frowned and tried to look at his nose as he walked. No success. He then managed to make Eren stop for a few seconds at a nearby stall with hanging pots so he could see his reflection. And looking at it, Jean saw a large orange stain on his nose. He groaned loudly, but when he was about to clean it, he saw that his hands were completely dirty because of the chalk, and a brief look to where Eren was holding his arm, showed a mixture of blues, reds and violets spread everywhere. Jean sighed, but then luckily for him, he saw a small fountain a little ahead, besides the large street’s entrance. He tried to look back, but failed to see his friends because of the amount of people.

Jean managed to make Eren stop once again to clean his hands at the fountain, but soon the boy was impatient. Jean bent for a moment to wash his face and when he lifted his head, Eren wasn’t by his side. Panic rose in Jean’s chest in a second. He quickly looked to the sides, seeing no sign of the boy. Then something nudged him from behind and he jumped, turning around.

"Can we go now?" Eren looked at him impatiently.

Jean leaned against the fountain’s border and took a deep breath, mentally chiding himself for having freaked out so quickly. He then recomposed himself and took Eren’s hands on his, crouching near the boy and looking into his eyes. "Don’t let go of my hand for anything, do you understand?"

Eren nodded, squeezing his hand. Jean smiled, calmer now, and returned the squeeze. He then got up and began to follow the stream of people towards the music that still  played .

Soon they were in the big street, and with every step they took the noise got louder. There were many people standing on the sides and when they got closer, Jean could see why. It was really a parade like Eren had said. A mix of dancers and musicians were walking and dancing along the main street, all with colorful costumes, carrying flags and ribbons that swayed with the breeze.

But there were too many people.

Jean realized that by his side, Eren struggled to find a hole in the middle of the adults to be able to see. The boy then seemed to lose his patience and was about to kick the person in front of him, when Jean hoisted him up and put him on his shoulders.

After a painful hair pull and a shriek of joy that hurt Jean’s poor ears, the two found a comfortable position. Jean was grateful for his height, that helped him to see a long way forward, and Eren couldn’t be happier with the privileged position he had. The boy barely blinked and made several exclamations of contentment, and when a dancer made a pirouette, he exclaimed, “Did you see that, Jean?” as he tried to bend down to look at his face, almost falling over. Jean’s ears were hurting from all of Eren’s screams, but he couldn’t help but be amused at the boy’s happiness, that was strangely contagious.

While various costumed people passed by and Eren had fun, Jean looked around, alert to anything that seemed suspicious. The street was  much busier  than the square, and consequently, more dangerous. Jean still hadn’t seen any of his friends, but he smiled. They  had probabl y stopped at a food stall.

 

When the parade finally ended and people were beginning to disperse, Jean put Eren down. He had just put the boy on the floor and was massaging his sore shoulders when Eren gasped again. Jean raised an eyebrow at Eren, who surprisingly  hadn’t pulled his hand this time, but waited patiently.

"What is it?" He softly asked as he turned to Eren, who seemed strangely shy.

"Hm, there’s a puppet show." He looked up at Jean, studying his reaction and then timidly pointed to a street on the right. "Right there."

Jean bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling and pretended to think for a moment. "Maybe we can take a look... Do you want to go?" He asked nonchalantly and looked sideways at the boy.

Eren's eyes lit up and he nodded quickly. Jean chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair and started walking. At the street corner, Jean stopped and looked back, but once again didn’t see his friends. Eren gave a small tug on his hand and he continued to walk, deciding that he would look for them after the puppet show.

 

The street took them to a square with a fountain in the middle. Several stalls were scattered by the sides, and the place was almost empty, except for a few people buying things at the stalls and several children, who were sitting on the other side of the square in front of a big wooden box with curtains, which Jean deduced to be where the puppet show would take place.

Eren began to walk directly to the box, pulling Jean with him. It was then that Jean felt his stomach grumble and realized he had not eaten anything since breakfast. He called Eren, who albeit unwillingly, stopped with him in the queue of a stall selling pies and pastries.

Jean was looking for money in his pockets when a small trumpet was heard, followed by several excited cheers from the children. Eren immediately turned towards the show and grabbed Jean’s sleeve. "It’s starting, Jean! It’s starting!"

Jean turned and saw the small theater’s curtain open. Eren grabbed his sleeve even tighter. Jean then looked at the queue in front of him. The person was finishing to pay, and soon he’d be next.

Jean bit his lips when Eren pulled on his sleeve, looking at him in despair. With a sigh, he let go of the boy's hand, which he had been holding since the parade and looked at Eren’s eyes. "You can go," Eren grinned broadly and turned to leave, but Jean grabbed his hand again before he left running. "but! Stay in a place where I can see you. Understood?" The boy eagerly nodded and went to sit near the other children.

The woman of the stall called and Jean turned to say his order, glancing at where Eren had sat and seeing him waving. Jean waved back before turning back to the woman.

Shortly after, Jean was munching on a piece of pie and holding another one for Eren with his free hand, as he headed for the puppet show. He had made sure to watch the boy even as he got the food and paid the lady, and saw he hadn’t left.

Eren was sitting in the same place, c oncentrating on the show . Jean snorted and swallowed another piece of pie before calling him. "Eren!" But the boy didn’t seem to hear.  _ He’s really focused on that thing. _ Jean smiled and shook his head, going to where Eren was sitting, at the end of the group of children.

"Eren, I got pies." He said again, as he chewed on his last piece, but the boy didn’t turn around. Jean frowned.

He swallowed and put his hand on Eren's shoulder, turning him a little. "Eren why don't you-" Jean's heart stopped for a moment. The eyes that glared at him were  _ brown _ , not green. The boy in front of him was the same height as Eren, the hair was the same color and he very similar clothes, but he was definitely not Eren.

_ No. _

Jean took his hand from the boy's shoulder and frantically looked everywhere, checking all the streets that left the square, but no sign of Eren.  _ No, no, no. _

"Is this pie for me?" He heard a voice behind him and turned quickly, almost making the pie fall from his hand. Eren alternated his gaze between him and the evidently confused boy at his side, who turned forward again after one last glare towards Jean.

Jean felt the air being expelled from his chest, a wave of relief passing through him.  _ How can Eren appear out of nowhere?  _ He then recovered from the shock and looked at Eren, serious. "I told you to stay where I could see you. Where did you go?"

The boy looked down, shuffling his feet, before grabbing something inside his pocket. "I went there real quick to get this shiny coin for you. Look." He then smiled sheepishly as he showed the piece of metal to Jean.

Jean sighed, closing his eyes. It was the second time he almost lost Eren.  _ What a great guardian you are, Jean. _ He took a deep breath and then looked at the boy, seeing that he was still handing the coin to him.

Jean bent down and handed him the pie, exchanging it for the coin. "Thank you, Eren." He tried to smile as he looked at the little object in his hand, before putting it in his pocket. Eren smiled back as much as he could with his cheeks full of pie. Jean reached out to clean some crumbs off the boy's cheek. "But don’t go walking around lik-"

He stopped when a movement caught his attention and his eyes zeroed in a group of people at one of the square’s entrances. They looked at the products in the stalls and seemed to be acting normal. Too normal.

Jean’s whole body tensed in alert.

He took a quick look around the place and didn’t recognize anyone, no friends, and no soldiers from the Corps. There was no one at the square except for the children and some adults that were sitting on benches talking to each other. He looked back to the group of people and his breathing caught in his throat when he saw a tall woman staring in his direction before quickly looking away.  _ Shit. _

Jean almost jumped when a trumpet sounded behind him, announcing the end of the puppet show. Parents sitting around began to get up, covering his view of the entrance. It was their chance.

Jean took Eren’s hand. "We need to go, Eren. C’mon."

Eren had just finished his pie and looked at him blankly, but then he seemed to see something in his expression and immediately became more alert.

Jean pulled his hand and began to walk half-crouched to an exit by the side, passing between the parents looking for their children. When he arrived at the side entrance he glanced at the other one, but the strange people weren’t there anymore. He quickened his pace, making s ure that Eren could k eep up.

The two passed through several random narrow streets, trying to distance themselves from the square. Jean looked up as he walked, trying to locate the meeting tower between the houses’ roofs. They needed to join the others as soon as possible.

Jean was so focused that he almost bumped on a person standing in front of him. He instinctively put Eren behind himself, but with a second look, he recognized the stranger as one of the soldiers who was patrolling the city. Jean almost sighed in relief.

The girl waved at Eren, who hid behind Jean’s legs, and smiled at Jean. "I'm glad I found you, the Commander has been looking for you both everywhere."

Jean looked back quickly, checking to see if they were alone before asking. "Did something happen?"

She shrugged. "He just said to meet him at the main street as soon as possible." She pointed with her thumb to somewhere behind her. But then her face turned serious. "From what I heard it seems to be an emergency."

Jean’s heartbeat quickened as he looked to where she had indicated.  _ An emergency _ . He pulled Eren closer to him before nodding to the soldier.

"Thank you for the information." Jean then began to pull Eren’s hand, seeing the boy was looking at the girl through narrowed eyes. "Let’s go Eren."

She waved as they walked in the direction she had shown.

When she was out of sight, Eren blurted out. "I don’t like her."

Jean raised his eyebrows at him as they walked. "What?"

Eren had a serious face. "She’s not nice."

Jean stopped walking. They had no time to spare if the situation was critical, and with every minute Eren could be more at risk, but... Jean trusted Eren’s instincts.

He looked around. "Are you sure?" Eren nodded and Jean sighed.

He looked back and then to the main street a few blocks ahead of them.

He ran his hand through his hair. The Survey Corps could have infiltrated spies and if this was all a trap...

_ 'You have to promise me you'll take care of the brat.' _

Levi’s words suddenly echoed through his mind, making him wince. Jean shook the thought from his head and took a deep breath. They didn’t have much time and he couldn’t – and wouldn’t, risk Eren’s safety.

Looking to the side, he saw a dark empty alley with an abandoned tent that blocked the rest of the way. He pulled Eren’s hand, a desperate idea forming in his mind as he walked.

Jean crouched near Eren. He took the boy's hands in his and looked at his eyes, which were bigger than ever in the dim light of the alley.

"Eren, I need you to stay here. Hide under that tent and," Jean gulped before continuing, his throat uncomfortably dry. "and if I'm not back in 10 minutes, go to the meeting point, Mikasa will find you."

Eren frowned. "I want to go with you..."

_ 'You will not take your eyes of him for even a second.' _

Jean closed his eyes tightly, forcing the words in his mind to dissipate. Opening his eyes again, he stared at the boy's sad gaze. He hoped he wouldn’t cry.

Jean gripped Eren’s hand more tightly. "Eren, I need your help with this mission. Are you or are you not a soldier of the Survey Corps?" Eren's eyes widened and Jean continued. "Can I count on you, soldier?"

Eren nodded his head slowly. Jean then did the Survey Corps’ salute and soon Eren imitated him, but then looked down, frowning, his bottom lip almost trembling.

Jean took his hand softly. "Hey, look at me." Eren did what he said and Jean touched his grass bracelet with his. "I will come back. We’re best friends, right?" Eren nodded, his expression a bit more calm and Jean smiled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Very well."

He then got up and led Eren to the tent. With one last nod, the boy disappeared under the tent’s cloths and Jean began to walk in the other direction as quietly as possible.

Arriving at the alley’s corner, he looked around. Seeing no one, Jean began to head towards the main avenue. Some minutes had passed since they had encountered that girl and now he’d find out if she had said the truth or not.

Jean walked as fast as possible, trying not to draw unwanted attention. The streets were still full, but with the afternoon light spreading across the sky, many people had stopped to eat and wait for the bonfires to be lit at night.

He arrived at the main avenue and quickly slipped behind a tent, looking for a sign of Erwin or the others.

Then he saw the woman.

The same tall woman who was in the puppet show square.

Cursing profanities in his mind, Jean hid more behind the tent. It was obviously a trap. He thanked the gods  that he hadn’t brought Eren with him. His eyes darted around. How much time had passed since he had left that alley? It didn’t matter. He had to get out of there and find Eren.  _ Now. _

He turned to run when he tripped over a box on the floor,  causing several pans to fall onto the street loudly . Jean yelled at himself mentally and started to run, not daring to look back. He  flew past several streets until he was sure that no one was following him and then headed to the alley where he had left Eren.

 

Jean was panting when he got there. He stopped besides the abandoned tent and looked under the cloth. Nothing.

He leaned against the alley’s wall and tried not to panic.

Had it been ten minutes? Jean didn’t know, but he could only hope so. Hope that Eren had gone away and was at the meeting point with the others.

He took a deep breath and then something on the dirty floor caught his eye. Getting closer, Jean saw that it was Eren grass bracelet.

He bent down to pick it up, and then felt something cold press against the back of his neck.

"Don’t move." A voice said behind him.

Jean barely had time to react when he felt an excruciating pain on his head and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry for the cliffhanger... Well, not really, but hang in there! Only two more chapters to go :)


	7. Chapter 7

When Jean woke up, he had no idea where he was. His vision was blocked by some kind of cloth and he was lying on the cold, hard ground. He could hear voices nearby and the distant cry of... birds? He blinked a few times behind the blindfold, trying to remember what had happened and then it all came back at once.

 _Eren_.

Jean tried to move, his breath quickening, but an excruciating pain in the back of his head made him stop, hissing, and as he tried to touch his neck, he realized that his hands were tied behind his back. He tried to break free, but without success. _What the..._ A strong gust of wind made him shiver and he stopped, realizing that he was in an open space.

The voices then stopped and Jean held his breath. He heard footsteps approaching and a moment later, the blindfold was taken off. The bright light burned Jean’s eyes and he closed them quickly. He blinked a few times until his eyes adjusted and when he finally got to see where he was, his heart stopped for a second.

He could see miles of land stretching to the horizon; the sun turning everything shades of gold. Birds flew past _below_ him. He was on the top of the Wall.

"Finally awake, huh?" Jean turned his head and saw a tall man beside him, outlined by the sunlight. He wore the uniform of the Survey Corps and smiled menacingly at Jean. "Now you can tell us where the brat is."

Jean blinked, absorbing what the man had said.

 _They hadn’t found Eren_. Jean tried not to sigh in relief.

Behind the man, Jean saw several wooden boxes scattered around the Wall, as if waiting for transport. On the other side was a group of people he recognized as being the same ones from the puppet show and with them was the soldier who had spoken to him earlier. She smiled as if nothing had happened. Jean felt anger boil inside of him.

The man beside him cleared his throat and folded his arms. "So."

Jean raised his head slightly. "I don’t know what you're talking about."

The man gave a dry laugh. "Don’t play dumb. We would have grabbed the boy and put another one in his place at the square if he hadn’t gotten up to get that stupid coin and then you-"

"That's enough." He turned when a woman put her hand on his shoulder. Jean recognized her. She was the one who stared at him at the square.

The man gritted his teeth before pulling away. The woman then crossed her arms and turned to Jean, looking down at him for a few seconds before speaking.

"You see, kid. We know you’re responsible for that little freak." The others chuckled at her words, making Jean clench his hands so tightly that it hurt.

The woman started walking towards one of the scattered boxes. "I don’t want to complicate things. So I'll simplify it for you." She then opened one of them. Jean had a glimpse of various parts of 3DMG, like blades and gas tanks. Then he understood. Smugglers. People who wanted to make Eren one of their products.

But before he could think more about it, the woman took a shotgun out of the box. "You help us to get the boy," she loaded the gun and the sound reverberated through the wind. "Or you’re going to be another poor unfortunate soul who lost their life on these Walls."

Jean's eyes widened. She didn’t seem to be bluffing. Trying to think of a plan, he looked around quickly. The chances of his friends finding him were almost zero, since this part of the Wall wasn’t typically used for traffic, it was fairly remote. Even if he could buy some time, the sun was setting and soon it would be almost impossible for anyone to find him. Jean had no choice. And he wouldn’t let these people get close to Eren.

He took a deep breath and glared at the woman. "No."

She smirked. "How heroic." She gave the tall man a signal and he picked Jean off the floor sharply, making him hiss from the pain on his head.

The man left him and walked to the others and the woman pointed the gun at Jean, the barrel glowing orange with the sunlight. "I know you hit your head pretty bad and aren’t thinking straight, so I’ll give you one more chance. It would be a shame to end it like this."

Jean's eyes widened a little at her hesitation. _They need me._

He then understood. They wouldn’t let him go. He’d be used as hostage to get Eren. And he wouldn’t allow that. He had already failed once as a guardian, but he wouldn’t fail again.

A gust of wind pushed him a step back and Jean looked over his shoulder, seeing the edge of the wall was a few steps away from him.

The tall woman laughed, the sound void of emotion, as she adjusted her aim on him. "There's no way out of here, kid."

Jean turned to the woman and the others behind her, all lit by the orange light of the sun.

_The sun._

Jean felt his eyes widen and he smiled. "Do you know where the sun comes from?" While the others exchanged confused glances with each other, he quietly stepped back, his foot almost on the edge.

The sound of a gunshot rang near him and a scared Jean looked down at his feet, where a black mark could be seen a little further away from his shoes.

He saw the tall woman smirking, her posture calm but her eyes wild as she reloaded the gun. "I don’t have the whole damn day, kid! So what will it be?"

Jean swallowed. Then another strong gust of wind passed through, causing the smugglers have to stabilize themselves and Jean, moved quickly, albeit a bit wobbly, now with both of his feet on the edge of the wall. He glanced at the sun behind him, remembering the story he had told Eren on that first day that seemed so long ago. It seemed like some sort of foreshadowing.

"If you continue, there’s no going back." Surprised by the words, Jean looked at the woman, who now moved slowly to position the gun once more after the wind had messed with her aim. The only sound that could be heard was the wind and what appeared to be birds flying nearby.

Jean almost laughed at the irony of the situation he was in. If only he could fly like the boy in the story, or like those birds. And before the woman could move, he threw himself into the void.

He heard the sound of a gunshot and felt pain in his shoulder, but Jean had more important things to care about, like the fact that he was falling towards the ground 50 meters below remarkably quickly.

He looked at the orange sky in front of him, the air making his eyes water, but Jean tried his hardest to keep them open, not wanting to miss the tragic beauty that surrounded him. He thought about Eren and how if his Eren saw him now, he would say that he was the suicidal bastard. The thought made him smile despite everything.

His shoulder began to hurt badly and his head wasn’t any better, and he could feel his consciousness slipping away. Jean then looked one last time to the sun, thinking how it seemed so close, as if he could touch it.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of birds flying and a voice calling his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go :')


	8. Chapter 8

Jean woke up when a strong jolt shook his body. Groaning, he slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was in a moving wagon.

 _What..._ Jean began to sit up, but the pain in his head and shoulder made him hiss and lay back down.

"Take it easy, Jean." A voice said softly to him. Jean turned his head and saw Marco sitting next to him.

"Marco..." Jean began with a wobbly voice, and then it all came back to his mind.

_Eren._

Jean looked around frantically, his breathing becoming ragged. "Marco! Where is he? He is okay? What-"

"Eren’s alright Jean, calm down." Marco said, putting his hands on his good shoulder to reassure him. His friend had to repeat the same phrase four times until the information was absorbed by Jean’s mind.

Jean took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his heart hammering in his chest. After he calmed down a little, he asked how long he had been out and Marco said it was already morning.

 _Well,_ he thought, glancing at his injured shoulder that had been covered with bandages, _it could have been worse._ Apparently, as Marco had told him, Mikasa was the one who found the smugglers. She had been really angry when Eren appeared at the meeting point alone, eyes full of tears, saying that something had happened to Jean, and she gave the call to search at the farthest points of the city. The weird bird sounds Jean had heard when he was up in the Wall where the Survey Corps soldiers surrounding the area.

"What happened to those people?" Jean said after a moment, trying to control the rage in his voice, his fists closed tightly as he remembered their faces.

"Let’s just say Mikasa took care of them." Jean opened his eyes and saw Marco with a strained smile, like he had seen some things he didn’t want to. Jean swallowed. He sure didn’t want to be the target of her rage.

"But Eren’s okay, you don’t need to worry. The most part difficult was to prevent him from coming along to help find you." Marco said and laughed, Jean joining him with a chuckle. Marco then looked at him with caring eyes. “Now try to rest a little, Jean. We’re almost there.”

Jean chuckled as he closed his eyes again, the heaviness of sleep overcoming him. Marco always knew how to make him feel better. He would always be grateful to him.  


After some time, the wagon stopped and Marco held up the cloth that covered the entrance of it. "We’re here." He said, getting off with a jump. "Do you need someone to carry you, Jean?" He asked, approaching with his arms open.

"I'm fine," Jean said. His body still ached from the recent events, as well as his head and shoulder, but he would recover soon.

The two hadn’t even given ten steps towards the castle, when they heard a scream. "Jean!"

They looked up and saw mini Eren running towards them. Jean bent down and opened his arms, hissing a bit because of his shoulder. Seeing the bandage on Jean’s shoulder Eren slowed down until he was in front of him. Jean looked at the boy with a soft smile and saw his bottom lip tremble. Eren then hugged him tight, almost throwing them back and making a wave of pain shot through Jean’s body. He put a hand on the boy’s head and held him tight. Eren was nearly choking him with his arms around his neck and Jean’s head was killing him, but he didn’t care. Eren was _safe_.

Eren then released him and rubbed his eyes, wiping some tears. "You saved me again." He sniffed, smiling.

Jean smiled back softly. He could feel tears gathering in his eyes. "You save something because you care about it, right?" He chuckled. Saying the phrase reminded him of that first day, when he was so blinded by his denial and refused to see the light that Eren brought to his life. And if Jean were honest with himself, which didn’t happen often, mind you, he would say Eren had been his light for some time now. Sure, sometimes it was in the form of the _burning_ anger inside of him when they fought, but still.

Eren hugged him again, snapping him out of his thoughts, and Jean breathed deeply as he embraced the boy, his heart knowing that all was well.

 _But for how long?_ His mind wondered. He didn’t know the answer.

\-----

Eren didn’t leave Jean’s side for the rest of the day. Jean had to attend some meetings to give his version of the events to help with the investigations that would follow, and he had to spend a good amount of time in the infirmary. His friends went to visit him there, offering help and giving him hugs, the latter being mostly done by Sasha, who hugged him twice before Eren got jealous and didn’t let her get close anymore. She didn’t care though, as she almost screamed with delight and swooned over the boy, making his pout even bigger. Mikasa was also there, and Jean made sure to thank her, again with no hugs, and she smiled at him, ruffling his and Eren’s hair, making them both groan.

The day was busy, but Eren didn’t seem to mind and Jean was happy. But when the evening came, he was exhausted. On that day it was Connie’s turn to tell a story in the room. He gesticulated and made shadow puppets with his hands.

Jean snorted in his bed when Connie imitated the sound of a bird. He had his arm around Eren, who listened attentively to story tucked beside him – on the right side of the bed, as always. Some time later, the lights went out and silence took over. The moonlight shined through the window’s glass, illuminating the room.

Jean stared at the wall in front of him. He couldn’t sleep. Lying down on his good shoulder, trying to stay very still not to wake Eren, he was reviewing the Festival day in his mind. How they had escaped for so little; how he shouldn’t have been separated from Eren for even a second; and the look on Eren’s face when he had left him. These thoughts seemed to close around him, making it difficult to breathe and his head hurt.

He was pulled from his depressing and painful thoughts when a little hand held his shirt. "Jean?" He heard Eren whisper. Jean stilled. _Now you woke the boy. Congratulations Kirschtein_. Jean wanted to slap himself, but he just hummed softly.

Eren held his shirt more tightly and whispered. "I'm sorry for losing my friendship bracelet." He seemed resigned, as if he expected Jean to scold him or something.

 _That's what he's worried about?_ Jean breathed deeply. "Eren, look at me."

Eren looked up shyly and in the moonlight his green eyes sparkled more than ever.

"I won’t stop being your friend because of a bracelet." Jean said, softly. "We will be friends for a zillion years, remember? And we'll explore the outside world together. See where the _sun_ comes from. You” He poked the boy’s nose and Eren chuckled. “and me.” It was Eren’s turn to poke his nose and Jean smiled at him, feeling his chest swell with affection.

Eren smiled up at him, his sleepy eyes trying to close and then he finally gave in, snuggling into Jean’s chest, breathing becoming even.

Jean was almost asleep when he heard Eren whisper. "I love you, Jean."

Jean forgot how to breathe for a moment. His chest was filled with something hot, _so hot,_ he thought he would melt. He listened as Eren’s breathing slowed down again and took a deep breath.

Then Jean smiled, a smile filled with such much happiness that it rolled off him in waves.

"I love you too, Eren." He whispered, and kissed his forehead, feeling that Eren’s skin seemed hotter tonight. Or maybe it was his imagination.

\-----

Jean was taken from his dreams by whispering voices. Or at least whoever was trying to whisper, wasn’t doing a very good job.

He grunted and tried to move, in order to turn around and curse at the unfortunate soul that had disturbed his sleep, but then he couldn’t. There was something on his chest stopping him. And something heavy.

Jean realized with the more awake part of his brain that the conversation had stopped, but the weight on him was still there. And it couldn’t be Eren, since the boy wasn’t that heavy.

Jean usually functioned at about 10 percent of his usual energy in the morning, so he just tried a slight movement. Nothing. He grunted again and tried to push away what was on top of him. If Connie had put another brick on top of him, he’d-

Then whatever was on top of him moved. _What the fuck_. He began to open his eyes, blinking a few times because of the light. If Connie had put an old dog on top of him again, he’d-

When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he was met by two big green eyes staring at him. Jean fought the scream that wanted to escape his lips.

"Hi, Jean." Said a deep voice that Jean would recognize anywhere.

"Huh." Jean gaped at the teenager on top of him, eyes so wide it almost hurt.

He heard someone sigh, but he didn’t turn to look. He couldn’t look away from those eyes. "I think you broke him, Eren." The same person then seemed to leave the room. “Good luck.” Jean heard the door close, the sound of steps fading. _It sounded like Armin. Maybe it’s Armin. It’s probably Armin. Or maybe it wasn’t Armin?_

"Jean?" Eren waved in front of his face and Jean snapped his attention to the teen in front of him.

He scrambled away from Eren, making the boy fall on the bed with a grunt, and got up. Jean looked at him like he was an apparition, his heart hammering inside his chest.

"You..." He swallowed. "You’re back." He managed to say, but his voice was strangled, like he had forgotten how to talk.

Eren sat on the bed and got up slowly, as if Jean was going to run away at any moment. "Yeah... I’m back." Eren said and began to approach him cautiously.

"And...” Jean began to step back. “Do you remember anything?" He looked around nervously, his breathing ragged. They were the only ones in the room. _Did the others set this up?_

Eren hummed in affirmation and Jean snapped his head to him, seeing he was closer now. Jean had nearly forgotten that Eren was almost his size. And what if he remembered the embarrassing things Jean had done?

"Everything?" Jean hit his back against the wall. He had nowhere to go. _Oh my god._

“Hmm,” Eren seemed to think for a moment, a hand on his chin. "I remember you saying you loved me." He looked at Jean with a smug grin.

Jean felt his eye widen and clenched his jaw. _Oh, you asshol-_

"And I said I loved you too." Eren murmured, getting closer. Jean could feel the warmth of his body. "I still do. "

Jean stilled. He wasn’t expecting that. "You do what?"

Eren scowled, a faint red spreading on his cheeks. "Love you, you fucking moron!" Jean smiled wide and Eren narrowed his eyes at him, smiling back.

Eren then took his hand and raised their joined palms together between them. He looked at the grass bracelet on Jean's arm. "We’re going to find where the sun comes from together, right?"

Jean grinned at him. "I promised, didn’t I?"

Eren looked at him, the red on his tan cheeks darkening. "Yeah..." He smiled softly and Jean felt like he could combust.

A knock on the door got their attention. “Eren, the Commander wants to see you.” It sounded like Mikasa.

“You should go.” Jean squeezed Eren’s hand before releasing it, and turned to change his clothes.

Eren grabbed his arm. “Wait!” He then got really close and Jean swallowed dry at the proximity. “Where’s my goodnight kiss?”

Jean felt his cheeks get hotter and he said, exasperated. “It’s not even night yet!”

“Hmm, true.” Eren narrowed his eyes to the light coming from the window, as if cursing it for being there. “But I can wait.” He smirked before releasing Jean’s arm and heading for the door. He stopped and turned back, a smile so bright gracing his face that it put the wildest fire to shame. "And I still sleep on the right side of the bed." And then he closed the door.

Jean blinked twice, and yelled. "In your dreams, Jaeger!"

He heard the boy’s loud laugh on the other side of the door and smiled, once again feeling like he could touch the sun, but this time, he knew he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it! I can't believe it's actually happening haha I'm so, so happy to see this finally finished and completed; to be able to move on.
> 
> Thank you guys so much. You, who waited for so long and also you, who is reading the fic for the first time. Thanks for all the support, comments, kudos and I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. You guys are the best, really. I already said this, but I couldn't have done it without you. So thank you once again and long live Erejean! :D
> 
> P.S.: if you can, please leave a comment saying what you thought about the story, even if it's just a word. It'll make my day! Thanks!!


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